Winter Olympics: This French figure skater made a surprising costume change midway through her routine
French figure skater Maé-Bérénice Méité has not shied away from the spotlight at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Midway through her performance during the ladies’ single free skate program that aired Thursday night, Méité pulled back a portion of her black skirt to reveal a bedazzled, sparkling one underneath. That sparked another mid-program change, with the music shifting from Chopin to the more upbeat “Happy” by C2C, a French band.
First @beyonce, then a mid-skate costume change? France's Mae Berenice Maite pulled out ALL the stops in 2018. #WinterOlympicshttps://t.co/ZARjrrHq1spic.twitter.com/P2thM7PDAk
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 23, 2018
With a fall during her program, Méité earned a score of 106.25 for her long program. That makes her final score in the event a 159.92, putting her in fourth place after she skated early in the final event Thursday evening, before top competitors like Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva took the ice.
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Méité’s risk-taking follows similar attention-grabbing moves she made previously during the Olympic Games. Earlier this week, Méité skated to Beyoncé’s hit “Run the World (Girls)” — a choice made possible by a new rule that allows skaters to perform to music with lyrics. And she did so wearing black pants — an ensemble that stood out compared to her competitors’s more traditional costumes.
Sound ?? because France's Mae Berenice Maite just skated her short program to @Beyonce! #WinterOlympicshttps://t.co/HZJCWvFQHxpic.twitter.com/rb9Kt2y0l3
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 21, 2018
The skater received praise for her popular song choice by Beyoncé fans around the world — including Saturday Night Live‘s Leslie Jones, who’s known for her Olympics fandom.
I like when they do stuff like this! @NBCOlympics@Olympicspic.twitter.com/sLmzammn3c
— Leslie Jones ???? (@Lesdoggg) February 21, 2018
Although the figure skater likely won’t crack the top 10 in the singles event at the Games this year, her creativity appeared to be well received Thursday night by fans on Twitter.
She totally surprised me with the costume and music change! She looked like she was having so much fun during the second half of her skate! She had the biggest smile on her face! It was really fun to watch her!
— Michelle (@michellerw1982) February 23, 2018
Mae is TAKING ME THERE with that costume change yasssss
— ??@ Eternal YOI screaming ??? (@vivaceburi) February 23, 2018
Chopin, record scratch, costume change and then fun! Love Meite's style and short program. #Olympicspic.twitter.com/Cv31SbwhL3
— Rachel Rose Gold???????? (@RachelRoseGold1) February 23, 2018
Mae-Berénice’s costume change! I love all the sparkles & the music change in the middle, it matches her bright personality. ???? #figureskating#Pyeongchang#olympics
— ????Candy Corm ????s Worldwide JINius???? (@CandyCorm) February 23, 2018
So loved watching Mae Meite's program especially the part with the midprogram costume change and those dance moves! ??????????????????? #figureskating#pyeongchang2018#olympics
— Zee (@Zee424) February 23, 2018
Yes! French figure skater does a costume change on the ice! Buuuuutttttt then she fell. Still, love her! #figureskating
— Nicole Lyn Pesce (@PesceNic) February 23, 2018
