Olympic Champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron crowned their golden season with their first World title as competition wrapped up at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 in Prague, Czechia on Saturday. More than 15,000 spectators at the O2 Arena enjoyed a fascinating Free Dance and in total more than 111,000 spectators came since Wednesday to watch a spectacular grand finale of the Olympic season.  

Fournier Beaudry & Cizeron round off perfect season with World gold

Fournier Beaudry & Cizeron capped off a perfect season with a personal best performance to dance off with gold in their first ISU World Championships as a team. Canada’s Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier earned the silver, their fifth World medal. Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik (USA) surprisingly clinched the bronze on their World Championship debut.

Fournier Beaudry & Cizeron once more created a unique and magical moment with their Free Dance “The Whale”. The Olympic Champions floated over the ice, executing effortless looking yet intricate footwork and beautiful lifts. Their difficult elements and the unique choreography came together to form a work of art.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) added a World Title to Olympic gold to complete their outstanding first season as a team © ISU

As the last notes of the music faded away, the audience rose as one to give the French Champions a standing ovation. It was the final and perfect moment to end the competition.

The ISU European Champions set a new personal best of 138.07 points and accumulated 230.81 points to win with 19 points to spare. The judges awarded them 12 perfect 10.00 scores for the program components’ composition and presentation.

The French skaters received a standing ovation from the Prague crowd at the end of their captivating Free Dance © ISU

“We are super happy about what we felt out there with the whole ambience and all the love from everyone, we really lived on ice,” Fournier Beaudry said.

“We had a great season from the beginning to the very end, today was the very last performance of the season, so we wanted to enjoy it as much as possible, and we did thanks to everybody who was in the stadium and we are very grateful to be here,” she continued.

“It was truly amazing,” Cizeron shared. “I think we felt it from the first moment we stepped on the ice, it was really magical, we could feel the energy of all of the public out there and we are just really grateful to feel this moment.”

Gilles & Poirier hit new Heights with old routine

Gilles & Poirier turned in a captivating performance of their “Wuthering Heights” program from the 2023/24 season that they had brought back especially for these World Championships. The 2026 Olympic bronze medalists score 125.07 points and ranked third in the Free Dance but remained in second overall at 211.52 points.

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (CAN) brought their 2023/24 Free Dance 'Wuthering Heights' back onto the ice for a late-season challenge © ISU

“We're so happy that we chose to come to this event, we had some wonderful performances,” Poirier noted.

“I really felt so much energy from the crowd and I knew so many great memories will be created. We're really pleased with what we've been able to accomplish in winning our fifth World medal. It is such a huge accomplishment.”

The Canadians decided to go back to “Wuthering Heights” to give them a new challenge for the World Championships.

“I think we are really proud of what we did out there, having about three weeks to put together a program we haven’t done in two years,” Gilles said.

“It was a challenge but we really enjoyed it. There were some parts that were a little sketchy but we still showed up when we needed to and that’s all that matters.” 

Zingas & Kolesnik stunned by podium place on debut

Zingas & Kolesnik created the biggest surprise of the night and continued their meteoric rise this season. The reigning ISU Four Continents Champions impressed with their dramatic “Romeo and Juliet” program. The Americans were fourth in the Free Dance with a personal best of 124.99 points but moved up to third overall on 209.20 points to take the bronze.

No-one was more stunned than Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik themselves when the American climbed into third place © ISU

The young couple were stunned.

“I'm still shaking,” Kolesnik said. “It's a miracle on ice. That's the real miracle on ice, right there. I can't believe this is happening.

“This medal [at their first World Championships] means the world. I think my brain is still processing what’s happening, because I think this is the goal we've been trying to achieve over my entire career together and finally at our first Worlds we got the medal. I can’t ask for more and I’m full of joy.”

“This was probably the best we ever skated our Free Dance,” Zingas commented.

“We were so free skating today I wasn't even thinking about how tired I was or what technique I needed to do. I feel so blessed that we had that experience.”

The skaters celebrate their end-of-season medal haul at the OS Arena © ISU

fdf Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (GBR) entertained the crowd with their Scottish dance. However, they lost two points for an illegal element, which cost them a medal. The 2025 ISU Grand Prix Final bronze medalists slipped from third to fourth place on 208.98 points.

fdfd Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck (ESP) came second in the Free Dance segment with their beautiful performance to “Dune II” and overall moved up from sixth to fifth place on 206.37 points. The 2025 ISU European silver medalists Evgeniia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA) finished sixth with their dance to songs by Björk. 

Find more comments from the skaters in the Quick Quotes and Press Conference section on the ISU Website.

What and when

The schedule of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 is as follows:

Wednesday, March 25:      Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Thursday, March 26:          Men’s Short Program & Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March, 27:  Rhythm Dance & Women’s Free Skating 
Saturday, March 28:     Men’s Free Skating & Free Dance
Sunday, March 29:            Exhibition Gala & ISU Figure Skating Awards

A total of 173 Skaters representing 39 countries have been entered for the Championships: 39 Men, 33 Women, 21 Pairs and 31 Ice Dance couples. Prague hosts the ISU World Championships for the third  time after 1993 and 1962.

For more information, full entry lists and results, visit the ISU event page of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 and the official event website.  Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldFigure and #FigureSkating. 

Where to watch the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026

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