Madison Chock and Evan Bates of Team USA will have to keep their dreams of Olympic individual gold on hold as they earned a silver medal in the ice dance competition. They finished with an overall score of 224.39 after delivering a strong performance in their free dance routine, which had a bullfighting theme.
The couple lost out to France’s Laurence Fournier Baudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who narrowly secured the gold with a score of 135.64 for their free dance, totaling the same score of 224.39 due to their previous performance. Quite a close competition, really.
Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took home the bronze, marking a historic moment as it was the first Olympic medal for all three pairs competing in ice dance.
Chock and Bates entered the final day of competition just shy of a point behind the French pair, following Monday’s rhythm dance event. They gave it their all, performing to an instrumental rendition of “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones, and their routine thrilled the audience, resulting in a season-best score of 134.67.
2026 Winter Olympics
Baudry and Cizeron performed last to the soundtrack of “The Whale,” and despite receiving a low level for their twizzle sequence, they still managed to achieve the highest score of the night.
Having skated together for 15 years and tying the knot in 2024, Chock and Bates applauded their competitors following the announcement of the scores.
The American duo arrived in Milan with high hopes for an individual gold, building on their impressive track record of three world championships and seven national titles. Their best Olympic finish before this was a fourth-place showing at the previous Games in Beijing.
Another American pair, Emilia Zingas and Vadim Kolesnik, finished in fifth place with a score of 209.58. Cristina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, also representing the U.S., placed 11th with 197.62 points, both making their Olympic debuts here.
The gold medal for Baudry and Cizeron comes amidst some swirling controversies involving Cizeron himself. In her memoir released in January, she mentioned tensions with her former skating partner, Gabriela Papadakis, who accused her of being overly controlling and critical. Cizeron has denied these claims, labeling them as a “smear campaign” and has mentioned pursuing legal actions.
Adding to the drama, Baudry’s partner, Nikolai Sørensen, an American coach, faced suspension from Skate Canada due to allegations of sexual abuse by a former skater. His suspension was later lifted on jurisdictional grounds last June, and Baudry has publicly defended him several times.
