French Pair Leads Ice Dance at World Championships

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Olympic champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France captured a commanding lead in the ice dance competition at the world figure skating championships on Friday, earning a personal-best score of 92.74 points for their rhythm dance performed to music by Madonna.

The pair, who won gold at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last month, opened their routine with a precise twizzle sequence that drew immediate applause from the crowd at O2 Arena. Spectators cheered throughout, culminating in a rotational lift that sealed their performance. After reviewing their score, which surpassed the 90.18 they received for the same segment at the Olympics, the skaters embraced on the ice.

"It's our first world championships together, so we really wanted to have fun and we really enjoyed the crowd," Fournier Beaudry said. "They were exchanging energy with us, and it just reminds us why we do it. We wouldn't be there without them. It's just a very, very nice moment for us."

Cizeron added that the atmosphere in Prague felt lighter than at the Olympics. "What's really fun about this championships is that, I think I can speak for everyone, we feel it's more like...