Ice Dancing Mistake: Papadakis’ Nip Slip

Clothing malfunctions often leave figure skaters exposed in front of millions watching at home, as Gabriella Papadakis of France experienced during their short program at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang with partner Guillaume Cizeron. Her sequined halter top became unclasped revealing her left nipple to all watching, yet they continued with the routine despite Papadakis’ embarrassment – later, she described it as her worst nightmare.

Video footage of Papadakis and Cizeron performing to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” went viral online, showing them performing to Ed’s last notes before her nipple became visible to audiences. When it concluded, close-ups appeared with Papadakis’ hand raised toward the sky for their final pose in their routine.

Since their collision, however, they have recovered well and finished second in short dance behind Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. With one more free skate competition remaining before them and Canadian rivalry likely to make for fierce competition, these two are strong favorites to take home the gold medal this time around.

This wasn’t the first time a pair of skaters experienced an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction during an Olympic event performance. US ice dancing siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani of US were skating a Michael Jackson-inspired free dance at Sochi 2014. Unfortunately, during one lift lift their spangly costumes got caught together, ripping one of Maia’s flesh-colored tights ripped. Unfortunately they continued skating without stopping their performance or stopping to fix the error; therefore losing points due to this error.

Ekaterina Rubleva made headlines worldwide when her Janet Jackson-inspired costume accidentally unzipped during a routine in 2009. As part of this infamous wardrobe malfunction, her pink and white outfit fell open, exposing full frontal breasts.

Papadakis and Cizeron should be applauded for keeping their composure under pressure to continue their routine, regardless of any consequences. A skater’s hard work should not be marred by wardrobe mishaps – performing a flawless routine on ice is difficult enough; now add millions of viewers watching your performance!