In 2016, an independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed allegations that the Russian Olympic team had been involved in a state-sponsored doping program from at least late 2011 through February 2014, when Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi.[1][2] On 9 December 2019, the WADA banned Russia from all international competitions after it found that data provided by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities in order to protect athletes involved in its doping scheme.[3] Under a ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in December 2019, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to compete as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships for the next two years.[4] On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russian athletes would compete under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[5]
Couples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on 12 February.[6] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds,[13] the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "street dance rhythms". Examples of applicable dance styles included, but were not limited to: hip-hop, disco, swing, krump, popping, funk, jazz, reggae (reggaeton), and blues. The required pattern dance element was the Midnight Blues.[14] The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: the pattern dance, the pattern dance step sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.[15]
The top twenty-four highest scoring teams after the rhythm dance advanced to the free dance, which teams performed on 14 February.[6] The free dance could last no longer than 4 minutes,[13] and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements, of which one had to be a choreographic character step sequence.[16]
All of the technical elements in any figure skating performance–such as jumps and spins–were assigned a predetermined base point value and then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from −5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[17] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score.[18] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components–skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music–and assigned a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25 point increments.[19] The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[20]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[22] The total elements score and program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each team.[23]
For Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France, their appearance at the 2022 Winter Olympics was their first international performance in nearly three years. They set a new world record in the rhythm dance, beating the previous highest score, which had been set by them at the 2019 NHK Trophy. Their last international appearance had been the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships. "These Olympics are so different from four years ago," Cizeron said, referring to the 2018 Winter Olympics, where they had won the silver medals. "We are in a very different place. I think with all the experience we've gained, we have become more mature. We know better what we are doing, so we are enjoying it better."[24]Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia, who had won the 2021 World Championships, finished in second place, improving on the score they had received in the team event by nearly four points. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States finished in third place, while Madison Chock and Evan Bates, also of the United States, finished in fourth place.[24]
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the free dance, and the overall competition, setting a new world record with their total score of 226.98, which was six points ahead of silver medalists Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia. Simon Reed, who provided the on-air commentary for the European broadcast, said of their performance: "For four minutes, it was exactly at the point where art and sport met, the pinnacle of entertainment, in the most important competition in their lives."[25] Reed went on to add: "They lost in Pyeongchang [at the 2018 Winter Olympics] by under a mark, but here they’ve decimated the field."[25] Papadakis and Cizeron had finished in second place at the 2018 Winter Olympics with less than a point separating them from gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.[27] Reed finished his comments by describing Papadakis and Cizeron as "as fine an ice dance couple as there has been in history."[25]
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States finished in third place, winning the bronze medals. Hubbell and Donohue had previously announced that they were retiring at the end of the season.[28]Madison Chock and Evan Bates, also of the United States, finished in fourth place with a free dance where Chock portrayed an alien and Bates an astronaut. Alice Park of Time called their twizzle sequence "truly out of this world".[28] "Our program is deeply rooted in the message of accepting and finding love with someone who is different than you,” Chock stated in an interview. "It’s important for us to have that message behind our program every season, and especially in the Olympic season, when we feel we have the opportunity to... inspire others around the world."[28]
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