French figure skaters Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won their first Olympic gold in ice dancing Monday in Beijing, breaking their own world record in the process.
The duo, who scored 226.98 in total to beat their previous highest score of 226.61, are five-time European and four-time world champions.
But this is their first Olympic title after coming second at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 when a wardrobe malfunction disrupted their performance.
This time, sleek in shimmering red and gold, there were no such problems as they spun across the ice to the strains of "Elegie" by French composer Gabriel Faure.
Their free dance score of 136.15 was just shy of their own world record.
Russia's Nikita Katsalapov and Victoria Sinitsina, the reigning European and world champions, had to settle for silver.
Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue took bronze on what they have said will be their last Olympics.
'This is the medal we wanted'
Papadakis said: "I think we don't believe it yet. Honestly it feels completely unreal. We have been waiting for this.
"For years this was the only medal that we wanted and the past four years were just about that moment. We worked a lot and it was very hard."
Cizeron described the route that clinched gold as "like time stops. You kind of get through it and then it's over.
"We just relied on our trust, and we borrowed energy from all of our teammates and coaches. It's memories... that I will never forget," he said.
Silver medallists Sinitsina and Katsalapov earned 131.66 for their passionate interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, and 220.51 overall.
