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American figure skating pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates captured the silver medal at the 2026 Cortina Games in Milan, finishing with a total score of 224.39 after earning a score of 134.67 in their free dance on Wednesday night.
Chock and Bates, the married couple who have been skating together for more than a decade, were defeated by French couple Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who scored 135.64 in the free dance for a total of 225.82.
It was the pair’s best result to date, and it was needed to surpass Chock and Bates, the group that earned the United States its 12th medal of the Games so far.
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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)
Finishing in third place for the bronze medal was an emotional Canadian pair of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who were elated to see their final score of 217.74 after a result of 131.56 in the free dance that put them in podium position.
A second American group consisting of Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, making their Olympic debut, finished fifth with a total of 206.72 points.
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.
Their matador routine, dancing to a rendition of the famous Rolling Stones song, “Paint It, Black,” drew much applause from the crowd, as they finished in tears.
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.
After an equally brilliant routine, the judges decided that the French duo did enough to defeat the Americans in the end.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France react to their gold medal-winning scores after competing during the figure skating ice free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Cizeron won the ice dance title at the 2022 Beijing Games, although it was with his ex-partner Gabriella Papadakis, with whom he also won five world titles.
Their split, however, was fraught with controversy, as Papadakis accused Cizeron of an “unbalanced” relationship, in which she felt was “under his control,” in her memoir. She also claimed that he was “controlling” and “demanding.”
Cizeron called it a “smear campaign” as well as “false information,” and said he will take legal action against the partner he has skated with since they were children.
Meanwhile, Fournier Beaudry faced his own controversy last year, having previously been in a personal and professional relationship with Canadian skater Nikolaj Sorensen. Sorensen received a six-year suspension following a 2012 sexual assault allegation, although it did not involve Fournier Beaudry, but rather an American skating coach.
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)
Fournier Beaudry quickly obtained French citizenship last year to partner with Cizeron. Together they won four of their five major title events, although their only second-place finish was to Chock and Bates in the International Skating Union Grand Prix final.
But Olympic gold remains with France in this event after an exciting performance by all pairs at the Milan Cortina Games.
