French ice dancer Gabriella Papadakis said her “worst nightmare” came true Monday, February 19, after suffering a wardrobe malfunction that left her breast exposed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
The 22-year-old was skating to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” when a lift by her partner Guillaume Cizeron resulted in her costume becoming undone and exposing her breast. But rather than allow the accident to shatter her Olympic dreams, the athlete powered through her short program, and the duo came in second place with 81.93 points.
“I felt it right away and I prayed,” Papadakis told reporters after the routine. “That’s about what I could do.”
Despite the mishap, Papadakis knew she had to keep going. “It was pretty distracting, kind of my worst nightmare happening at the Olympics,” she revealed. “I told myself, ‘I don’t have a choice. I have to keep going,’ and that’s what we did. I think we can be proud of ourselves being able to deliver a great performance with that happening.”
Those watching at home were impressed by Papadakis’ resilience. “French ice dancer skates through costume malfunction with nip out for half of routine. The CONFIDENCE and poise . . . Wow,” wrote one person on Twitter. “Lol imagine working for like 2 decades on your figure skating, going to the Olympics, and when you finally perform, you get called out because a nipple popped out for like 3 seconds. MOVE ON PEOPLE IT WAS BEAUTIFUL SKATING, FOCUS ON THAT!!!”
NBC edited the accidental R-rated gaffe out of future broadcasts and videos online.
This is the second time during the PyeongChang Games that costumes have been an issue for skaters. South Korean ice dancer Yura Min’s costume became unhooked just seconds into her routine with partner Alexander Gamelin on February 11.
