“I was in a mindset where I had nothing to lose, nothing to gain either. It was more out of curiosity, a deep desire to create something new.” Guillaume Cizeron about skating with Laurence Fournier Beaudry
Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry about skating together.
original source: Eurosport France dd. March 2d 2025 by Diane Falconer
In an interview posted on AFP and Eurosport, Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry spoke about their partnership and goals. Here’s a translation.
“Q: How did you come up with the idea for this new collaboration?
Guillaume Cizeron: I brought up the idea to Laurence during a dinner. It seemed like a crazy idea, but I decided to share it with her anyway. I think it was a bit of a shock for her at the moment because it came out of nowhere! But after a lot of discussions, we tried to reason out why we would team up, to be sure we were making the right decision. I was in a mindset where I had nothing to lose, nothing to gain either. It was more out of curiosity, a deep desire to create something new.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry: It’s true that the proposal was a bit of a shock; I wasn’t expecting it at all. I had thought that maybe I could do shows with Guillaume because we’ve been friends for a very long time. But when he told me he’d like to return to competition, I really liked the idea.
Q: After ending your partnership with Gabriella Papadakis, how did you come to the idea of returning to competition?
Guillaume Cizeron: Since my last competition, the World Championships in 2022, a lot has happened. I went through many stages of reflection. It’s not easy for an athlete to approach the end of their career. I feel quite fortunate today to have the opportunity to make a real choice to return. It’s not a need. I don’t necessarily have that need for achievement in sports in my life. I think I’ve already done that. It comes from a deep love for the sport, for the life of an athlete, and specifically for ice dance. I feel very lucky to be able to return today on my own terms, and to have proven myself enough to have the full support of my country’s federation and the national sports agency. If you had talked to me a year ago, I wouldn’t have bet that I would be here with this project.
Q: You took a break for almost three years; will you be ready in time for the 2026 Olympics?
Guillaume Cizeron: We need to create experience together. We have to get back to it early enough, but we enjoy it. It’s not something that scares us. We are athletes at heart. We love to train. Personally, I’m glad to have continued training during these three years, even without knowing if I would return or not. Even without competing, I was training at a level that wasn’t necessary for what I had to do. On an artistic level, were you on the same wavelength?
Laurence Fournier Beaudry: Already in the past, we talked a lot about what we like, what we don’t like in skating. We have the same tastes, the same visions. So it’s quite natural to work together, to collaborate and explore that. Even though we have different experiences and sometimes different opinions, we share the same curiosity and the same passion for skating. We have a real dialogue in life, which we can translate into our work.
Q: Have you already started discussing programs and music for the next season?
Guillaume Cizeron: That’s all we do! These are conversations that started very early and are already quite advanced. Having taken a lot of perspective on the sport and the trajectory of the sport, I think we feel a responsibility, but also a desire. We are very intrigued to see which trajectory we can take with this baggage, this maturity about the sport, and our respective desires.”
Related topics: Gabriella Papadakis Guillaume Cizeron, Laurence Fournier Beaudry Nikolaj Sorensen
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