Sarah Abitbol
Sarah Abitbol and Stéphane Bernadis in 2001
Born	(1975-06-08)8 June 1975 (age 49) Nantes, France
Hometown	Paris
Height	1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)
Figure skating career
Country	France
Discipline	Pair skating
Began skating	1981
Retired	2003
Medal record
World Championships 2000 Nice Pairs European Championships 2002 Lausanne Pairs 2003 Malmö Pairs 1996 Sofia Pairs 1998 Milan Pairs 1999 Prague Pairs 2000 Vienna Pairs 2001 Bratislava Pairs Grand Prix Final 1999–2000 Lyon Pairs French Championships 1994 Grenoble Pairs 1995 Bordeaux Pairs 1996 Albertville Pairs 1997 Amiens Pairs 1998 Briançon Pairs 1999 Lyon Pairs 2000 Courchevel Pairs 2001 Briançon Pairs 2002 Grenoble Pairs 2003 Asnières Pairs 1993 Grenoble Pairs

Sarah Abitbol (born 8 June 1975) is a French former competitivepair skater. With skating partnerStéphane Bernadis, she is the2000 World bronze medalist, the2000 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a seven-timeEuropean medalist (two silver and five bronze medals), and a ten-timeFrench national champion.

Born inNantes, France, Abitbol began skating at the age of six, choosing skating over swimming. She initially took lessons and practiced in that area.^[1] In 1992, at the age of 17, she teamed up withStéphane Bernadis to compete in pair skating.^[1] Abitbol/Bernadis were coached by Jean-Roland Racle early in their career, followed byStanislav Leonovich in Paris.^[2]

At the2000 World Championships inNice, France, Bernadis said he was attacked by an unknown assailant with a razor on 28 March when he opened his hotel room door. He suffered an eight-inch cut down his left forearm.^[3][4][5] Bernadis said he had received a death threat three weeks earlier.^[6] At the event, he and Abitbol won the bronze medal, becoming the first French pair skaters to win a World medal since1932, whenAndrée Brunet /Pierre Brunet won gold in this competition.^[7]

When Bernadis became injured after performing the short program, the pair had to withdraw from the 2001 World Championships.^[8] They qualified for the 2002 Olympics by winning the 2001Golden Spin of Zagreb.^[8] Abitbol/Bernadis withdrew from the 2002 Olympics after Abitbol'sAchilles tendon ruptured in practice; she underwent surgery and was off the ice for six months.^[7][9] After the2003 European Championships, the pair changed coaches, moving toJean-Christophe Simond.^[7]

Abitbol/Bernadis worked onthrow tripleAxels.^[7]

Abitbol married Jean-Louis Lacaille in 2009.^[10][11] Their daughter, Stella, was born in June 2011.^[12]

In January 2020, Abitbol published a memoir,Such A Long Silence (Un si long silence). In it, she accused her former singles coachGilles Beyer of sexual assault, stating it began in 1990 when she was 15 and continued over a period of two years. This triggered a scandal that led to the resignation that year ofFFSG presidentDidier Gailhaguet over his alleged covering up of past allegations against Beyer, in addition to cover ups of other cases.^[13]

While the assaults reported by Abitbol occurred outside the time limits of thestatutes of limitations, Beyer was subsequently charged with sexual assault and harassment in cases relating to six other students who came forward with allegations of more recent events.^[14] In addition,Sports MinisterRoxana Mărăcineanu ordered a broader investigation of the prevalence of sexual abuse in French sports culture. This concluded with reports of misconduct by more than 400 individuals.^[15]

(with Bernadis)

with Bernadis

GP:Champions Series / Grand Prix

• List of select Jewish figure skaters

Media related toSarah Abitbol at Wikimedia Commons

• Sarah Abitbol / Stéphane Bernadis at theInternational Skating Union
• Official website of Abitbol / Bernadis(in French)

• 1975 births
• Olympic figure skaters for France
• Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• French female pair skaters
• Living people
• Jewish French sportspeople
• World Figure Skating Championships medalists
• European Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Sportspeople from Nantes
• 20th-century French sportswomen

• CS1: unfit URL
• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2023
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Articles with French-language sources (fr)