{"id":524,"date":"2026-02-17T01:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vibes15.com\/?p=524"},"modified":"2026-02-17T01:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:54:22","slug":"ice-dance-scandal-grows-as-madison-chock-and-evan-bates-consider-appeal-following-isus-official-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vibes15.com\/?p=524","title":{"rendered":"Ice Dance Scandal Grows as Madison Chock and Evan Bates Consider Appeal Following ISU\u2019s Official Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Call it the great ice dancing scandal of 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The Novi-based gold-medal favored pair of Madison Chock and Evan Bates arrived in Milan as the sport\u2019s reigning standard-bearers as three-time world champions who\u2019d 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\u2019s free dance program, coupled with a near-flawless 89.72 mark in Monday\u2019s rhythm program, they ultimately fell short.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"Madison<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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\u2019s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron edged the American duo by razor-thin margins in both events, despite Cizeron appearing to stumble on a \u201ctwizzle\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"Madison<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI think the scores were confusing and people are rightfully questioning them,\u201d Chock told The Detroit News. \u201cWhen you have situations like that, it really does a disservice to our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s and women\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"Madison<\/p>\n

Appealing Wednesday\u2019s results is still possible, though the International Skating Union seemed to downplay Chock and Bates\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\"Questionable<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d an official release said. \u201cThe ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.\u201d
\nAsked point-blank if the duo planned to appeal the ruling, Bates, an Ann Arbor native and University of Michigan graduate, said the duo is \u201cexploring the possibility of it and just understanding how it would work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chock<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe\u2019d want to make sure we have the process correct and that those in charge of the appeal are working in good faith.\u201d
\nRegardless, the pair campaigned for more stringent scrutiny of judges, calling it important for ice dancing\u2019s integrity as a sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019d 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\u2019re watching,\u201d Chock said. \u201cThat means holding everyone involved accountable, not just skaters and coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fans<\/p>\n

Chock and Bates would not commit to any future beyond the Olympics, including next month\u2019s world championships in Prague. They\u2019re the three-time reigning champions in ice dancing and would likely be favored to win again if they compete this year.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Instead, they\u2019re soaking in what will likely be their final Olympic experience as athletes. The pair visited Milan\u2019s 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\u2019ll leave Milan with their heads held high.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re really proud of the skates we had,\u201d Bates said. \u201cWe performed our absolute best, and we\u2019ll hold on to that for the rest of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s reigning standard-bearers as three-time world champions who\u2019d lost only sparingly since finishing one spot off the podium at the Beijing Olympics. But despite a season-best score of 134.67 points […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIce Dance Scandal Grows as Madison Chock and Evan Bates Consider Appeal Following ISU\u2019s Official Response - Vibes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vibes15.com\/?p=524\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ice Dance Scandal Grows as Madison Chock and Evan Bates Consider Appeal Following ISU\u2019s Official Response - Vibes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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\u2019s reigning standard-bearers as three-time world champions who\u2019d lost only sparingly since finishing one spot off the podium at the Beijing Olympics. 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