Piper Gilles: “American team has done that to us many times: they’ve fallen or the judges haven’t seen certain things, and they’d still beat us. That’s exactly what the French did to the Americans at the Olympics.”
Canadian figure skater Piper Gilles commented on the ice dance judging at the 2026 Milan Olympics.
original source: Phone a Friend podcast with Jessi Cruickshank
In the Phone a Friend podcast with Jessi Cruickshank, Canadian ice dancer Piper Gilles reflected on the judging at the 2026 Milan Olympics, noting that the French team benefited from judging in a way similar to how the Americans had previously, and emphasized the importance of focusing on their own performance and happiness.
“Q: The American team, Madison and Evan, whom you know well and have trained with for many years, are devastated and angry – they’re talking about that openly. You and Paul seem to handle it all in stride. Is that because you’re classy, professional, representing a polite country, or were you upset with how it all went down?
Piper Gilles: No, actually, it’s kind of funny. Paul and I were absolutely ecstatic. We were totally outside the drama at the Olympic Games. We were the happy ones on the podium, and that’s quite rare at the Olympics. Usually, the top three are all celebrating, crying, and emotional.
But in a way, Paul and I – our last two years truly prepared us for a moment like that. Because the American team has done that to us many times: they haven’t had their best skate, they’ve fallen or tripped, the judges haven’t seen certain things, and they’d still beat us. They beat us out of two World Championship medals, ending up on top of the podium.
So, in a way, Paul and I know exactly how it feels, and it’s terrible. But I think we’ve learned so much about ourselves and how we can handle situations like that. You have to say, “I can’t control this. Yes, I don’t like it, but I’m not going to go to the media and sound the alarm everywhere.” Because in the same event, actually, the British judge gave us seven points lower than a lot of the other judges, putting us in seventh place after the rhythm dance. That’s exactly what the French did to the Americans, but no one’s talking about what was done to us. And that’s been happening at the last three events leading up to the Olympic Games.
So, there’s a lot going on. For Paul and me, we chose to take the classier route, to rise above all this, focus on our skating, and celebrate that. Because at the end of the day, it’s an Olympic medal – not everyone can have one. And for us, that’s a win. If we can come out happy, smiling, and very Canadian, we’ve already won. We won gold in the sense of how we handled ourselves.”
Related topics: Olympic Games, Piper Gilles Paul Poirier
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