Coming into the 2022 Winter Olympics, there were many who thought that gold in the ice dance event would likely come down to a showdown between Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron and Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov, with a slew of teams fighting for the third spot. After all, Sinitsina/Katsalapov are the reigning World champs and the only team who has beaten Papadakis/Cizeron in the past four years. But if the Team Event was any indication, it may be a lot closer for silver than we thought. The question is - could two American teams get on the podium or could two ROC teams get on the podium?
2022 Winter Olympics dance predictions
Official hashtag: #Beijing2022
GOLD Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron FRA - It’s the title that they deserve, and it’s the title that they are going to get. Over the past eight years, their only peer has been Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir, who famously won their second individual Olympic title four years ago. Papadakis/Cizeron has been trailblazers - see their rhythm dance this season - and continue to be clearly the cream of the crop. Everyone expects Beijing to be their coronation, and unless catastrophic mistakes happen, that is what we will see.
SILVER Madison Chock/Evan Bates USA - Four years ago, Chock/Bates had a devastating fall in the free dance and finished ninth in their second Olympics together. Many expected them to have retired after that season, but they have persevered, and over the past few seasons, they have been at their peak both technically and creatively. They bring in a unique point of view to the table, and that has helped usher in their career renaissance. Their victory over Sinitsina/Katsalapov in the free dance in the Team Event perhaps signaled that their best is yet to come.
BRONZE Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov ROC - A back injury has hampered the reigning World champions’ preparations quite a bit coming into the Olympics. Though they won Europeans - Papadakis/Cizeron did not compete there - their victory was not as large as some would’ve imagined, and their two programs in the Team Event didn’t live up to their standards. They will have to avoid the mistakes that pushed them back earlier at the Olympics to challenge for gold.
4. Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue USA - It’s altogether possible that Hubbell/Donohue could make it two American teams on the podium. Their power and big skating are unmatched here, and after a couple of seasons trying to find the right formula, they have gone back to the type of material that made them so good. In particular, their Janet Jackson rhythm dance showcases their willingness to skate to the edge. A big rhythm dance can really set them up well for a first individual Olympic medal.
5. Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin ROC - A little deja vu - but it’s altogether possible that Stepanova/Bukin could make it two ROC teams on the podium. Not selected for the Team Event, they got to Beijing later than other teams and are fresher, in a lot of ways, because of that. They were silver medalists at Europeans only four points behind Sinitsina/Katsalapov.
6. Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier CAN - The reigning World bronze medalists have been somewhat up and down internationally this season so far. The rhythm dance is where their medal chances could be determined - they lost all kinds of levels in the Team Event and finished behind the Italians. They will need to fix those errors if they are to get onto podium this week.
7. Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri ITA - The European bronze medalists are the outsiders in this six-team face-off for the podium. As we saw in the rhythm dance in the Team Event, they have the goods to hang with the top teams. They will need a strong RD to keep themselves in contention, because the free is where the gap opens up more.
8. Olivia Smart/Adrian Diaz ESP - After missing PyeongChang by a razor-thin margin to their teammates Sara Hurtado/Kirill Khaliavin, Smart/Diaz reestablished themselves as the best team in Spain and booked their first Olympic trip together. They come in after a career-high fourth at Europeans, and can make history as the first Spanish dance team to ever finish in the top 10 at the Olympics.
9. Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson GBR - Four years ago, they were 24th at the World Championships. And over the past Olympic quad, they have been on a meteoric rise, finishing 7th at Worlds last year. Their material this season has not gotten as much traction as their programs last year, but they are very much in line for a top 10 finish here in Beijing.
10. Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Sorensen CAN - They are finally at the Olympics. Four years ago, it was heartbreak for them as they couldn’t manage to get Danish citizenship for Fournier Beaudry. A nationality change and four years later, and they come into Beijing skating their best ever.
Top 11-20 predictions
11. Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker USA
12. Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha CAN
13. Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu CHN
14. Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin ROC
15. Natalie Taschlerova/Filip Taschler CZE
16. Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis FIN
17. Oleksandra Nazarova/Maksym Nikitin UKR
18. Natalia Kaliszek/Maksym Spodyriev POL
19. Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto JPN
20. Tina Garabedian/Simon Proulx Senecal ARM