Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron will not go to Tallinn (Estonia), which is hosting the European Figure Skating Championships from Wednesday, as announced by L'Equipe.
The five-time European champions made this decision after learning about the sanitary conditions of the competition: no sanitary bubble, daily antigen test and fourteen days of complete isolation in the event of a positive result - reduced to ten days in l absence of symptoms.
Figure skating: Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron skip the European Championships, one month away from the Beijing Olympics https://t.co/bb703Ccfa6 pic.twitter.com/kQ2IAWC4Hm
- franceinfo (@franceinfo) January 6, 2022
"If they tested positive in Tallinn, that meant no Olympic title, with the inability to train for at least ten days," explains their coach Romain Haguenauer. They wanted to go to these European Championships, to take back the European title (Editor's note: they had been beaten in 2020 by the Russians Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov). But these European Championships are the third objective after the Olympic Games and the World Championships (in March in Montpellier). Is it worth it to jeopardize Goal # 3 for Goal # 1? In Montreal, we take the maximum of precautions: we have closed the locker rooms, separated those who go to the Olympics and do not go, they do not see anyone. It can't be possible at the European Championships. "
The French, Olympic vice-champions in 2018 and in search of the only title they lack this season, will therefore remain in their training base in Montreal until their departure for Beijing on February 1.
The quadruple world champions, winners of their two Grand Prix, were unable to participate in the Grand Prix Final which was to be held in Japan in December and had been canceled due to the pandemic.
Their package for the European Championships means that they will not face the Russians Sinitsina-Katsalapov, 2021 world champions in their absence and now arch-favorites for the European title, before the Olympics.