Papadakis, Hubbell to skate together to promote same-sex pairs in competition

At the 2022 Beijing Games, France’s Papadakis earned a gold medal in ice dancing with male partner Guillaume Cizeron, while American Hubbell won the team event after Russia was stripped of their title due to the Kamila Valieva doping scandal. Now retired from competitive figure skating, Papadakis and Hubbell will team up at the Art on Ice Gala across several Swiss cities this month, aiming to challenge gender stereotypes in the sport, according to ‘Reuters’.

“I see a lot of young women who want to pursue ice dance in a certain way and there's not that many young boys or men who are competing, so there's a limit to how many people right now are participating,” Hubbell mentioned to Reuters on Wednesday after rehearsing with Papadakis in Zurich.

Having trained together in Montreal and developed a close friendship, the duo decided post-Beijing Games to explore new opportunities. “Until recently it was only men and women that could skate together for ice dance,” Papadakis told Reuters.

In October 2022, Skate Canada became the first governing body in the sport to permit same-gender pairs at the national level. “But it's not yet allowed worldwide, and so I think it's just a change that is happening and people want to see it. It's just not a lot of people are ready I guess,” Papadakis noted.

They acknowledged the slow pace of change but hope to leverage their influence in the skating community to enable athletes to perform with same-gender partners. "I'm hoping that some very brave individuals are willing to take the leap soon,” Hubbell expressed to Reuters.

The duo’s debut performance will take place on Thursday at the Hallenstadion Arena in Zurich, followed by shows in Freiburg and Davos.