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American gymnast MyKayla Skinner, an Olympic medalist, spoke out against the judges who denied Madison Chock and Evan Bates ice dance gold at the Winter Games this week.
Chock and Bates finished second behind French rivals Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron after a controversial score by a French judge in the final routine.
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Mykayla Skinner of Team USA poses with the silver medal following the women’s vault final on the ninth day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Center on August 1, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Skinner, a former athlete whose accolades were also determined by the judges, said she is “sick” after the decision.
“I’m tired of athletes not getting what they worked so hard for and judges cheating,” Skinner told Pak Gazette Digital.
Skinner is not alone.
Former American champion gymnast Jennifer Sey also condemned the scoring that Beaudry and Cizeron over Chock and Bates, suggesting that judges should be held to greater accountability.
“There has been corruption in sports with Olympic-level judges forever. In gymnastics, boxing and figure skating. There needs to be more careful selection of judges to examine susceptibility to corruption, and more transparency in how scores are derived. Beyond that, corrupt judges should be punished with heavy fines to discourage such cheating in the future,” Sey said.
Jennifer Sey founded XX-XY Athletics in March 2024. (Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, a Winter Olympian who missed qualifying for Milan Cortina due to controversial rules also weighed in.
Five-time U.S. Olympian Katie Uhlaender, who lost her chance at qualification after Team Canada withdrew athletes in a qualifier to reduce the number of points the contest could offer, expressed her love for her fellow Americans in Chock and Bates.
“I am very proud of Evan and Madison. I know how hard they fought for gold in 2022, a fight that took years beyond the podium. They represented the United States well and deserved a moment on the podium at the Games as Olympic champions that they are,” said Uhlaender.
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“I don’t know anything about judged sports. I know you deserved to be at the top of the podium in 2022, and you gave the world and the United States the best you had. Go to the United States and thank you both for representing us so well.”
Skinner said that, first of all, he knew the “sacrifice” athletes make in order to compete in the Olympics.
MyKayla Skinner of Team USA poses with the silver medal following the women’s vault final on the ninth day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Center on August 1, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
“I have a lot of respect for every athlete who competed, because I know firsthand how much sacrifice goes into preparing for the Olympic Games,” Skinner added. “But I do believe there were performances by Team USA that deserved higher scores. When you dedicate your life to perfecting every detail, you hope the judges reflect that level of excellence.
“From my perspective as an Olympian, I saw routines that were clean, technically strong and emotionally powerful. It’s hard not to feel like they were underlined. Our athletes showed gold medal-caliber performances, and I stand by that.”
Skinner added that the controversy was a little more personal for her.
“This is also very familiar to me. At the 2016 Olympic gymnastics trials, I finished fourth in the all-around category, and historically fourth and fifth place had been named to the team,” she said. “That year, the selection process did not follow what many expected. I learned firsthand that sometimes things don’t always seem fair in judged sports. But that is exactly why transparency and consistency are so important! Athletes deserve clarity and confidence that their work will be evaluated evenly.
“I am incredibly proud of Team USA. Regardless of the color of the medal, they represented our country with heart.”
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)
Chock and Bates trailed the French pair by 0.46 points entering the free dance Wednesday night, and were going 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.
Beaudry and Cizeron scored 135.64 in the free dance for a total of 225.82.
The evaluation has become a debated topic globally in recent days, with some arguing that the French duo should have been rated more harshly.
Chock suggested that she and Bates will consider appealing the score, in an interview with Access Hollywood.
“I guess we would consider it. I think skating is a very subjective sport, but I think, to be fair, it’s good for judges to be reviewed for their work. Not just after this competition, but at every competition, to make sure there’s a fair and equal playing field for all athletes,” Chock said.
Bates has praised his fans who have spoken out during the controversy.
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“It means a lot to have people express their opinions on our behalf,” Bates said. “Hopefully the way we skated and the way we’ve approached pursuing these goals has resonated with people back home even in our response. I think hopefully that can reflect the Olympic spirit as well.”
The International Skating Union (ISU) has since defended the scoreboard.
“It is normal for there to be a variety of scores given by different judges on any panel and various mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,” the ISU said, adding that it has “full confidence in the scores given and remains fully committed to fairness.”
