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American figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history Saturday with their record seventh US figure skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a cover of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced the best free skate of the season and finished with 228.87 points.
“The feeling we had in the audience today was like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States perform during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston, at TD Garden on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)
They will be the big favorites to win gold next month in Italy.
“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”
US Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the U.S. team for the upcoming Winter Games.
The men’s medals would also be decided on Saturday, although two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble badly to miss a fourth consecutive title.
The United States has also qualified the maximum three men’s spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the national podium.
The last time Chock and Bates competed at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, they saw their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations.
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.
UN URGES COUNTRIES TO RESPECT THE TRUCE DURING THE WINTER OLYMPICS AND NOT TO DENY VISAS TO ATHLETES FROM ANY NATION
Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in the ice dance championship at the US Figure Skating Championships on Saturday, January 27, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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.”
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 last summer.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of USA perform at the Gala Exhibition during the final of the ISU Nagoya Figure Skating Grand Prix at IG Arena on December 7, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan. (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)
Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou received a specialized ceremony to receive their gold medals in front of more than 13,000 fans.
Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive awards. world championships in almost three decades in March when they defeated their Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
