The first notes of Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You' had just played when Gabriella Papadakis suddenly became aware that people were about to see a whole lot more of her shape than she had planned.
The French ice dancer's glittering emerald costume had come unhooked at the neckline and later in her Olympic routine her left breast was exposed live on television.
When the clasp became unhooked, the 22-year-old Papadakis was more worried about holding up her outfit than making sure her twizzles and rhumba were in sync.
Gabriella Papadakis endured a wardrobe malfunction when her costume became unkooked
The accident left Papadakis's breast exposed with her routine being broadcast live on TV
Her swinging short program with partner Guillaume Cizeron at the Pyeongchang Olympics was threatening to go down in history alongside Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction during her half-time performance at the Super Bowl.
'I felt it right away and I prayed,' Papadakis said. 'That's about what I could do.'
Somehow, the French couple kept things together through most of their Latin program, producing a score of 81.93 points Monday that left them second behind Canadian stars Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
Not all the program, though.
It was during the final element, when Papadakis leaned back in Cizeron's arms, that her costume rode upward to reveal her breast. The performance was being shown live on international television, and people immediately began posting screengrabs of the incident on social media.
Papadakis pictured with her dance partner Guillaume Cizeron during the Figure Skating show
Papadakis said that the incident occurring is 'kind of my worst nightmare'
'Our coverage of ice dancing was live tonight. Once a competitor's brief wardrobe issue became evident, we purposely used wider camera shots and carefully selected replays to keep the issue obscured,' NBC said in a statement. 'We have edited the video for all television encores and online replays.'
It was the second wardrobe mishap during the skating program at the Pyeongchang Games. American-born ice dancer Yura Min, competing for South Korea, had the back of her costume come unclasped during her short program with partner Alex Gamelin in the team competition.
Papadakis and Cizeron, considered the biggest threat to Virtue and Moir for gold, still managed to gain level-four marks for all their elements save their final straight line lift. That left the French duo less than two points behind their Canadian training partners on a packed leaderboard.
It's unclear whether the judges docked the couple for the wardrobe issue. The rules state losing any part of a costume, even a hair clip, can lead to a one-point deduction.
Despite the accident, Papadakis and Cizeron are less than two points behind leaders Canada
'It's a little bit frustrating to know that it's not because of something that we did,' Cizeron said. 'It's just a costume issue, something as stupid as that, so it's a little bit disappointing.'
Papadakis was nearly in tears as she approached reporters after the routine, which is required of any Olympic competitor after competition. But she was in better spirits an hour later, when she no doubt realised that her chance of a gold medal was still intact.
'It was pretty distracting, kind of my worst nightmare happening at the Olympics,' Papadakis said. '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.'
FRENCH ice dancer Gabriella Papadakis had her breast exposed to millions of Winter Olympics viewers worldwide after suffering a wardrobe malfunction during her routine.
The 22-year-old skater and partner Guillaume Cizeron, 23, were competing in the short dance when her dress somehow got unclipped at the back.
EPA Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron were in the middle of their routine when disaster struck
EPA French skater Gabriella Papadakis had her left breast exposed when her dress became unclipped
Papadakis tried in vain to cover up and eventually managed to clip her top back together.
Incredibly, the duo managed to shrug off the distraction and record a score of 81.93 - enough to move up to second behind Canada's Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue.
Moir and Virtue's 83.67 broke their own world record but it was their French rivals who had fans talking.
Social media users were quick to praise Papadakis for bravely carrying on, while others blasted broadcasters for showing a slow-mo replay.
Gabriella Papadakis skating a full short program with a wardrobe malfunction is true heroism — sham corb (@samcorb) February 19, 2018
Ummmm, just saying, a director at the OBS (Olympic Broadcasting System) totally chose those slow motion replays. That nip slip of Gabriella Papadakis at the end did not have to be included. How very disrespectful. — Kyle Shewfelt (@kyleshew) February 19, 2018
Ummmm did I just see Gabriella Papadakis' nipple??? #figureskateing pic.twitter.com/wlrKNZ8bj3 — J Alani (@Jolade_) February 19, 2018
I feel so mortified for Gabriella Papadakis. What a nightmare. — Elizabeth Cotignola (@LaDiavolina) February 19, 2018
I feel so bad for Gabriella Papadakis with that wardrobe malfunction during their ice dance short program. But I applaud her for pushing through and never giving up till the end! #olympics #PyeongChang2018 — Ⓜ️ark Christopherr (@MCAlviz) February 19, 2018
Why... why did they show so much replay? Like... what producer's getting fired today. — Sara (@archivalistic) February 19, 2018
I so feel for Gabriella Papadakis. You work your whole lives for this moment. World, let’s not let their performance boil down to a wardrobe malfunction. #PapadakisCizeron #Olympics2018 pic.twitter.com/kXKnhrVIsY — Lien Yeung (@LienY) February 19, 2018
Papadakis is the second skater to suffer a wardrobe malfunction after Yura Min's Olympic debut was hit by a similar issue.
The South Korean star's skimpy red dress slipped just seconds into her short dance routine, threatening to reveal just a little too much to the millions watching around the world.
EPA Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron managed to move into second place despite the slip-up
AFP or licensors Brave Gabriella Papadakis was hailed for continuing her routine
EPA The French duo are well in the hunt for a medal despite the wardrobe malfunction
As she was spun around by partner Alexander Gamelin she had to keep adjusting her red top to prevent showing off more than was intended.
At one point the top slipped just a little too far but instead of going into a flap Yura just carried on with her well-rehearsed routine.
EPA Gabriella Papadakis managed to clip her top back up towards the end of the routine
EPA Broadcast chiefs apparently decided to show slow-mo footage of the slip
EPA Yura Min suffered a wardrobe malfunction in the figure skating competition last week
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French ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron completed their short dance during the mixed ice dance program in Pyeongchang, but it wasn't without a major distraction.
Fairly early on in their routine, Cizeron lifted his arms and somehow managed to unclip the back of Papadakis' dress. They were still able to finish, but Papadakis tried in vain to keep her chest covered by constantly pulling up her top..
Gabriella Papadakis experiences a costume malfunction with her dress for the second time this week, according to @KurtBrowning
The clasp at the back of her halter snapped.
Bad luck and a distraction for the experienced French pair. pic.twitter.com/F6quTbadWu — CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 19, 2018
She was able to clip it back following the routine, but it certainly served as a distraction throughout most of the dance.
The two received a score of 81.93 and initially jumped up to second place behind Canada's Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue.
It didn't take long for those watching at home to weigh in on the wardrobe malfunction, many sending kind words to Papadakis for persevering through.
Gabriella Papadakis skating a full short program with a wardrobe malfunction is true heroism — sham corb (@samcorb) February 19, 2018
I feel so bad for Gabriella Papadakis with that wardrobe malfunction during their ice dance short program. But I applaud her for pushing through and never giving up till the end! #olympics #PyeongChang2018 — Ⓜ️ark Christopherr (@MCAlviz) February 19, 2018
Poor Gabriella Papadakis. How distracting for her to try and skate with that happening to her dress. — twissles (@slowseptember) February 19, 2018
I so feel for Gabriella Papadakis. You work your whole lives for this moment. World, let’s not let their performance boil down to a wardrobe malfunction. #PapadakisCizeron #Olympics2018 pic.twitter.com/kXKnhrVIsY — Lien Yeung (@LienY) February 19, 2018
I feel so mortified for Gabriella Papadakis. What a nightmare. — Elizabeth Cotignola (@LaDiavolina) February 19, 2018
THIS is the moment an Olympian's costume unhooked during a performance at the Winter Games.
French duo Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron were competing in the short dance ice skating in Pyeongchang earlier this morning, when disaster struck. In the clip, you see 22-year-old Gabriella’s green dress snap at the neck during the early stages of their dance. But the two-time world champion did not let it faze her as she continued the routine regardless. In fact, she completed the act pretty well, considering her chest was left exposed for the majority of it.
BBC/WINTER OLYMPICS NIGHTMARE: The French dance soldiered on
“My worst nightmare at the Olympics. I told myself 'you have to keep going'” Gabriella Papadakis Speaking afterwards, she said: "It was pretty distracting. "My worst nightmare at the Olympics. I told myself 'you have to keep going'. "That's what we did, and we have to be proud of ourselves, delivering a great performance with that happening." And fans were quick to jump on Twitter to commend her dedication to the sport. One tweet read: “Holy crap they just showed a close up of the French team’s wardrobe malfunction and full nipple exposure. Feel horrible for Gabriella.” And another added: “French ice dancer skates through costume malfunction with nip out for half of the routine. The confidence and poise… wow.”
But some weren’t so impressed. A third pointed out: “Imagine working for two decades on your figure skating, going to the Olympics, and when you finally perform you get called out because a nipple popped out for three seconds.” Despite the slight hiccup, the pair finished the event in second with a score of 81.93. The contest concludes tomorrow with the free dance.
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