Madison Chock and Evan Bates respond to Olympic ice dance judging questions

Madison Schock and Evan Bates responded to questions about arbitration recently Olympic ice dancing duet final. Chuck called for judges to be examined for transparency.

The pair were looking forward to defending their gold medal, however It came in second place By the French duo Laurence Fournier Baudry and Guillaume Cizeron.

One French judge rated Baudry and Cizeron higher than Chock and Bates, which helped propel the French team to the gold medal over the Americans. The judging was the subject of controversy on social media, with some arguing that Chock and Betts should have received higher scores.

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Madison Schock and Evan Bates of the United States compete during the free skating of figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armango)

Chuck said CBS News“It would definitely help if it was more understandable for viewers, to see a more transparent referee and understand… what’s really going on.

“I think it is also important for skaters that the judges are checked and reviewed to ensure that they are also giving their best performance,” she continued. “Because there is a lot at stake for skaters when they give their all, and we deserve for the judges to also give us their all and for the playing field to be fair and level.”

Chock’s answer came shortly after she sang a different tune when NBC News asked her about judging.

“We’ve definitely been through a wave of emotions, especially over the last 24 hours,” Chuck told NBC News. “And I think what we’ll take away is how we felt right after the skate and how proud we were of what we accomplished and how we handled ourselves throughout the entire week. To have four great performances at the Olympics is no small feat, and we have a lot to be proud of.”

Bates told USA Today, “We felt like we had our best performance ever. It was our Olympic moment. It looked like we were winning the skiing, and that’s what we’re going to hold onto.”

Bates also praised fans who spoke out in support of the American couple during the controversy.

“It means a lot that people are voicing their opinions on our behalf,” Bates said. “The way we skated and the way we approached to achieve these goals resonated with people at home even in our response. I think that can also reflect the Olympic spirit.”

Chuck and Bates were trailing behind French couple With a lead of 0.46 points they entered Wednesday night’s free dance, looking for their first Olympic medal in ice dancing and clearly hoping it would be gold.

Their bullfighting routine, dancing to a rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black,” drew cheers from the audience, and they finished with tears in their eyes.

They finished with a score of 224.39 after earning 134.67 points in their free dance.

Chock and Bates won gold twice after Team USA’s win on Sunday, but they had to watch one more routine to see if they could get the gold when Fournier-Beaudry and Cizeron took the ice.

But the judges decided that the French duo had done enough to defeat the Americans in the end.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States react when they see that their results earned them a silver medal after competing during the free skating of the ice dancing in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Natasha Pisarenko)

Beaudry and Cizeron scored 135.64 points in the free dance for a total of 225.82.

Chock and Betts were looking forward to the experience of receiving their gold medals on the podium after receiving their medals at the 2022 Games was delayed.

Chuck and Bates initially had to settle for a team silver medal with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Camila Valeeva, Who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals.

It was not until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valeeva guilty of violating anti-doping rules, that Chuck, Bates and the United States were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists.

Valeeva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-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.

Chuck and Bates spoke about their letter to Valeeva today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media summit in October.

“I think it’s hard to imagine what a 15-year-old went 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. I think grace should be given to human beings in all areas. We can never really know the full situation, at least from our perspective. … I really don’t know what I’m going to say to her.”

Chuck added, “I wish her well, as I would. I think life is short. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings going through our human experience together. And regardless of what someone did or didn’t do and how it affected you, I think it’s important to remember that we’re human beings as a group, and we’re all here for this moment, one moment on Earth, at the same time. And I just hope people have healthy, happy lives full of people. That love them.”

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Silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States skate with their medals after competing in the free skating of figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, February 11, 2026. (Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics for their correct gold medals, and they were finally presented during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024.

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