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, active from at least late 2011 through August 2015.[1] 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.[2] Under a ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to present themselves as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships until 16 December 2022.[3] 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.[4]
The ice dance competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 12 and 14 February at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.[5]Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France, who had won the silver medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics, had the highest scores of the 2021–22 season going into the Olympics. Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia had the second-highest scores of the season and had won the 2021 World Figure Skating Champions. Papadakis and Cizeron had opted to not compete at the 2021 World Championships.[6] In ice dance, the scores at the Olympics are typically consistent with the scores throughout the Olympic season; as a result, Papadakis and Cizeron, and Sinitsina and Katsalapov, were considered the leading contenders, with Papadakis and Cizeron seen as the favorites.[7]
Couples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on 12 February.[5] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds,[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]
The top twenty-four highest scoring teams after the rhythm dance advanced to the free dance. Couples performed their free dances on 14 February.[5] The free dance could last no longer than 4 minutes,[10] 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.[13]
For the 2021–2022 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance–such as jumps and spins–were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[14] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, the average after deleting 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.[15] 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 .25 to 10 in .25 point increments.[16] 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.[17]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[19] The total elements score and program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[20]
The free dance segment of the ice dance competition was contested on Valentine's Day, where Madison Hubbell of the United States and Adrián Díaz of Spain – rivals on the ice, but engaged to be married off the ice – faced off. While Hubbell and her partner Zachary Donohue were strong medal contenders, Díaz and his partner Olivia Smart were not. "It has never been a very close fight," Díaz said in an interview.[24]
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