Call it the great ice dancing scandal of 2026.
The Novi-based gold-medal favored pair of Madison Chock and Evan Bates arrived in Milan as the sport’s reigning standard-bearers as three-time world champions who’d lost only sparingly since finishing one spot off the podium at the Beijing Olympics. But despite a season-best score of 134.67 points in Wednesday’s free dance program, coupled with a near-flawless 89.72 mark in Monday’s rhythm program, they ultimately fell short.
Chock, 33, and Bates, 36, finished with silver Wednesday at the Olympic ice dancing finals, after a French judge awarded noticeably favorable scores to the eventual winners representing her country. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron edged the American duo by razor-thin margins in both events, despite Cizeron appearing to stumble on a “twizzle” rotation move in the free dance. French judge Jezabel Dabouis, one of nine officials on Wednesday, scored Chock and Bates lower than the rest of the panel, and significantly overscored Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron, the latter of which single-handedly accounted for the overall final margin between the two teams.
“I think the scores were confusing and people are rightfully questioning them,” Chock told The Detroit News. “When you have situations like that, it really does a disservice to our sport.”
Perhaps never has leaving the Olympics with a gold and silver medal been more bittersweet. Chock and Bates contributed to the Americans defending their gold medal in the team event from Feb. 5-7, which also featured combined scores from men’s and women’s figure skating. But the individual ice dancing gold had long eluded the couple, and would have been icing on the cake for an Olympic career that began 12 years ago at Sochi.
Appealing Wednesday’s results is still possible, though the International Skating Union seemed to downplay Chock and Bates’ likelihood of getting them overruled. An ISU spokesman said in a statement that the range of scores from the judges were normal, but did not elaborate further when asked specifically about judges ruling favorably for skaters representing home countries. The nine-person panel notably did not include a judge from the United States.
“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,” an official release said. “The ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.”
Asked point-blank if the duo planned to appeal the ruling, Bates, an Ann Arbor native and University of Michigan graduate, said the duo is “exploring the possibility of it and just understanding how it would work.”
He added: “We’d want to make sure we have the process correct and that those in charge of the appeal are working in good faith.”
Regardless, the pair campaigned for more stringent scrutiny of judges, calling it important for ice dancing’s integrity as a sport.
“I think we’d all agree that having an even playing field at the very top is the most important way to grow our sport and for people to trust and respect what they’re watching,” Chock said. “That means holding everyone involved accountable, not just skaters and coaches.”
Chock and Bates would not commit to any future beyond the Olympics, including next month’s world championships in Prague. They’re the three-time reigning champions in ice dancing and would likely be favored to win again if they compete this year.
Instead, they’re soaking in what will likely be their final Olympic experience as athletes. The pair visited Milan’s Duomo cathedral on Thursday and plan to cheer on their U.S. teammates in the remaining figure skating events during the next several days. The couple, who have skated as partners together for 14 years and married in 2024, acknowledged the outpouring of support online and said they’ll leave Milan with their heads held high.
“At the end of the day, we’re really proud of the skates we had,” Bates said. “We performed our absolute best, and we’ll hold on to that for the rest of our lives.”