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Madison Chock and Evan Bates answered questions about judging at the recent Olympic pairs ice dance final.
The pair were looking to defend their gold medal, but came in second behind the French duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
A French judge rated Beaudry and Cizeron higher than Chock and Bates, ultimately helping the French team win gold over the Americans. The evaluation has been the subject of controversy on social media, with some arguing that Chock and Bates should have received higher grades.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States compete during the figure skating ice free skate at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangué)
NBC News asked Chock and Bates how they felt about the trial.
“We’ve certainly been through a rollercoaster of emotions, especially in the last 24 hours,” Chock said. “And I think what we’ll take away is how we felt immediately after skating and how proud we were of what we accomplished and how we carried ourselves throughout the week. Putting in four great performances at the Olympics is no small feat, and we have a lot to be proud of.”
Chock and Bates were following the french couple by 0.46 points entering free dance on Wednesday night, and were looking for their first Olympic ice dance medal hoping it would obviously be gold.
His matador routine, dancing to a rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black,” drew applause from the crowd and ended in tears.
They finished with 224.39 after earning a score of 134.67 in their free dance.
Chock and Bates are two-time team gold winners after Team USA’s victory on Sunday, but they had to watch one more routine to see if they could capture the gold when Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron took the ice.
But the judges decided that the French duo did enough to defeat the Americans in the end.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States react as their scores earned them the silver medal after competing during the figure skating ice free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Beaudry and Cizeron scored 135.64 in the free dance for a total of 225.82.
Chock and Bates were looking to experience receiving their gold medals on the podium after a delay in receiving their medals at the 2022 games.
Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 years old at the time, stood above them with their gold medals.
It was not until late January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, that Chock, Bates and the United States were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists.
Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during a doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date.
Chock and Bates discussed what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee media summit in October.
“I think it’s hard to imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through in that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is to be an elite athlete as an adult, at 36 years old. And I think humans should be given grace across the board. And we can never really know the full picture, at least from our point of view… I really don’t know what I would tell you.”
Chock added: “I would just wish her the best as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we are all humans just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember that we are humans as a collective, and we are all here for this, our only moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people would have healthy, happy lives, filled with people who love them.”
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Silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States skate with their medals after competing in the figure skating ice free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, February 11, 2026. (Francisco Seco/AP Photo)
Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally awarded during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024.
