Winter Olympics star’s exposed nipple wardrobe malfunction cost her gold medal | Other | Sport

Gabriella Papadakis suffered a major blow in her quest for Olympic gold when she experienced an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction during her performance. Whilst competing in the ice dance event at the Winter Olympics in 2018 with former skating partner Guillaume Cizeron, the 30-year-old endured an embarrassing costume mishap.

During their routine at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Cizeron spun Papadakis around, inadvertently causing her top to come loose and exposing her nipple. The pair were amongst the favourites for gold, and Papadakis described the incident as her ‘worst nightmare’.

Reflecting on the incident after their performance, she said: “My costume opened up. It was difficult. It’s the first time that something like that happened. I tried to stay focused and finish without anything else happening.”

Despite the wardrobe malfunction, the French duo received an impressive score of 81.93 from the judges, placing them second at the halfway stage.

Cizeron later suggested that the mishap cost them vital points as they went on to secure the silver medal with a final score of 205.28.

He said: “It’s just frustrating to miss a few points just because of a costume issue. It’s not what we get ready for when we train. But you know, I’m so proud that we managed to pull out a program like that even with a difficulty like this.

“And we just look forward to a new day tomorrow and we have our chances to win and we’ll just do our best. The outfit was in our thoughts all along the program, a little bit.

“I think the twizzles is the only thing that kind of affected us the most because, you know, when you rotate it’s kind of hard to keep your dress on when it’s open.”

Four years later in Beijing, the ice skaters bounced back to finally clinch gold, beating Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, who took silver.

Following their retirement in December 2024, Papadakis was set to work as a commentator for NBC during this month’s Winter Olympics, but was removed from the role amid controversy surrounding her memoir ‘So as Not to Disappear’.

In the publication, she portrayed Cizeron, 31, as ‘controlling, demanding and critical’ throughout their figure skating partnership.

The Frenchman disputed his former partner’s assertions, claiming she included false information in her memoir and accusing her of waging what he described as a ‘smear campaign’ against him.

Cizeron stated: “In the face of this smear campaign, I want to express my incomprehension and disagreement with the labels attributed to me. The book contains false information, including statements I never made, which I consider serious.”

He continued: “For more than 20 years, I have shown deep respect for Gabriella Papadakis. Despite the gradual erosion of our bond, our relationship was built on equal collaboration and marked by success and mutual support.”