The 2018 champions Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir and bronze medalists Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani retired from competition. The silver medalists, Papadakis / Cizeron, had the highest score of the 2021–22 season before the Olympics. Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov had the second-highest score of the season and are the 2021 World champions, where Papadakis/Cizeron did not compete. In ice dance, the possibility of major error is small, and the scores at the Olympics are typically consistent with the scores throughout the Olympic season; as a result, Papadakis/Cizeron and Sinitsina/Katsalapov were considered the main gold contenders, with Papadakis/Cizeron the favorites.[2][3]
Papadakis/Cizeron broke their own world record in the rhythm dance to take a two-point lead over Sinitsina/Katsalapov into the free dance, which Papadakis/Cizeron then won by 5 points and narrowly missed breaking their own world record. Their combined total score was a new world record and they won the gold medal by 6.5 points ahead of Sinitsina/Katsalapov. Hubbell/Donohue were third in both segments to win the bronze medal by 4 points ahead of their American teammates Madison Chock / Evan Bates.