A French figure skater's 'worst nightmare' came true when her costume malfunctioned in the middle of a Winter Olympics routine

Reuters

Gabriella Papadakis during her Winter Olympics routine with partner Guillaume Cizeron.

• Gabriella Papadakis suffered a figure skating nightmare on Monday.
• During her short dance routine with French partner Guillaume Cizeron, Papadakis felt her glittery dress slip.
• Papadakis kept going, and the pair still returned a strong score.
• They could go on to win gold despite the malfunction.

French figure skater Gabriella Papadakis suffered a wardrobe malfunction during a dance routine at the Winter Olympics, which she described as "my worst nightmare".

The 22-year-old competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics short dance figure skating event at the Gangneung Ice Arena in South Korea on Monday.

Papadakis danced to Ed Sheeran's 2017 hit "Shape of You"alongside her partner Guillaume Cizeron. But during their routine, disaster struck.

This is because a clasp holding Papadakis' glittery dress together came undone, leaving her left breast exposed on live television.

Getty Images

Papadakis and Cizeron later in the routine.

Afterwards, Papadakis told reporters she "felt it right away and prayed."

But, despite the ordeal, Papadakis finished the routine with Cizeron, who "did his best to ensure it did not slip further," according to Reuters.

"It was pretty distracting," Papadakis added. "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."

If it is any consolation to Papadakis, it is not the first wardrobe malfunction at the 2018 Winter Olympics. A hook on the back of South Korean figure skater Yura Min's dress came undone just "seconds" into her event last week.

Regardless, it cannot have been too great a distraction as Papadakis and Cizeron's score of 81.93 points earned them a second place finish, and they could still win gold, depending on their performance in later events.