Madison Chock and Evan Bates may have skated their best performance in figure skating’s ice dance Wednesday, but the controversial upset they faced at the end still stung.
“We’ve already won in so many ways… we wouldn’t have changed anything about how we skated,” a visibly emotional Chock said after the event.
“This definitely hurts,” she added before breaking down in tears.
It was a night full of emotion, but this time, the tears were “bittersweet.”
“To be honest it’s a little disappointing,” Bates said. “We skated so great and were so close to something we’ve been after for many years.”
The U.S. veterans, favorites for the gold medal, had been chasing an individual gold since falling just shy of the podium in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
“So proud of the journey that we’ve been on… I’m crying so much,” Bates, a Michigan native, said. “We really delivered our best in Milan four times and so proud of that.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalists in the team event — performing to an instrumental version of “Paint it Black” — scored a personal best with their free dance skate and solidified at least a silver medal with their performance.
The new French ice dance team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who have only been skating together for a few months and are now facing controversy off the ice, were the only thing standing in their way.
It looked as if Beaudry and Cizeron gave them an opening with a bobble on their twizzles. But they soon settled into their program, set to the soundtrack from “The Whale,” and moved as if they were under water with a marvelous degree of refined elegance.
And then they won gold, marking an upset for a new team rising quickly in the ice dance world.
“It’s not surprising that they are so, so good. It is a little surprising, however, that they’re so good so quickly,” said Olympian Mariah Bell. “That’s not something that you see in dance, but it makes sense when you see who they are as individual skaters and what their background is coming to the the partnership.”
Meanwhile, Chock and Bates were left reflecting on their 15-year partnership.
“It’s been the most special journey. I mean, we’ve been blubbering our way through all these interviews, just reflecting on what an incredible 15-year journey it’s been and how intertwined our lives are with the sport,” Bates said. “And we fell in love on the ice and met each other through the sport, and all of our friends and support system are here because of the sport, and we’re so grateful for everybody who’s helped us get here.”
Bell said while the results might have seemed disappointing for fans, that’s just the way ice dancing goes.
“The difference with the two teams today really comes down to the minute details. Neither team made a large, glaring mistake. Ice dance is truly like ballroom on ice. They are perfect all the time. There’s never a hand out of place, a foot out of place, and so that’s what makes this discipline so hard. There is absolutely no room for error and neither team made any of those big errors,” Bell said. “So I think when you’re looking at the judging of it, some people are not gonna understand it.”
Watch below:
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Hence then, the article about definitely hurts chock and bates break down in tears after figure skating upset was published today ( ) and is available on NBC Chicago ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( ‘Definitely hurts': Chock and Bates break down in tears after figure skating upset )
Also on site :
- TTW Announces Top 50 Nightlife Travel Destinations in the World for 2026
- 'Barbie' Star Shares Emotional Tribute to Eric Dane
- This Terrible New Olympic Event Must Be Exiled From the Games Forever