Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the silver medal in ice dance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The American duo believes the confusing results do a disservice to figure skating and its fans.
Judges’ scores, particularly from the French judge, have been scrutinized following the event.
Despite the controversial finish, Chock and Bates said they felt they delivered a winning performance.
MILAN — After a controversial ice dance finish at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Madison Chock and Evan Bates said they believe it’s not good for figure skating when fans don’t understand the results.
“Any time the public is confused by results, it does a disservice to our sport,” Chock said on Thursday, one day after settling for the silver medal behind the French team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, stirring sharp reaction from American fans.
“It’s hard to retain fans when it’s difficult to understand what is happening on the ice. I think there needs to be a lot more clarity for the skaters, for the coaches and for the audience, in order to just have a solid fan base moving forward. People need to understand what they’re cheering for and be able to feel confident in the sport that they’re supporting.”
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Fans and fellow figure skaters have voiced support for Chock and Bates, arguging they delivered a flawless free dance while Beaudry and Cizeron weren’t as clean. Still, the French duo went on to earn a better score and secure gold.
There were nine judges for the free dance, and their scores have been scrutinized, particularly the scores French judge Jezabel Dabouis submitted. She awarded Beaudry and Cizeron a 137.45 and Chock and Bates a 129.74. That more than seven-point differential was the largest among any of the judges, and the 129.74 was Chock and Bates’ lowest score. Chock and Bates said they haven’t studied the scores, but they spoke to their coach and Bates said: “We know how we felt on center ice after we skated.’
“We felt like we delivered our absolute best performance that we could have. It was our Olympic moment. It felt like a winning skate to us, and that’s what we’re going to hold on to,” he added.
In the initial aftermath on Wednesday, the couple were flooded with emotion and tears, calling it a “bittersweet” moment to just fall short of gold. Now that they’ve had time to process the results, they are happy they were able to finally capture an Olympic medal in ice dance.
“At the end of the day, a medal is a medal, but the Olympic dream is alive, and it’s not something that is tangible,’ Chock said. ‘It’s something that lives within us and really is the driving force for our motivation and intrinsic goals. I think that’s what’s special about the Olympics, and that’s a real win for us.’
There’s been an outpouring of sympathy for Chock and Bates, who have now competed in four Winter Olympics together. The pair said they appreicate all of the support and love, including some demanding answers and voicing frustrations with the result.
“It means a lot that people are voicing their opinions on our behalf,” Bates said. “The way that we skated and the way that we’ve approached chasing these goals, hopefully has resonated with people at home even in our response. I think hopefully that, too, can reflect the Olympic spirit.”
With their Winter Olympics schedule complete, next comes a decision on their future, if the 36-year-old Bates and 33-year-old Chock will continue skating. Although they have not committed to the 2026 world championships in March, they do “have plans to remain on the ice” for now. The pair also plan to stay in Milano Cortina through the closing ceremony.