Madison Chock and Evan Bates energize the Milan crowd to finish the rhythm dance less than four tenths behind French rivals
Three-time reigning world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates opened their Olympic ice dance campaign with a poised, powerful rhythm dance, finishing 2nd in the opening segment and positioning themselves squarely in gold-medal contention when the competition concludes with the free dance.
Skating last to their Lenny Kravitz medley, Chock and Bates delivered with speed, clarity and confidence, earning a score of 89.72 — less than half a point off the lead. Their performance reinforced why they entered Milan as gold-medal favorites, combining strong technical execution with the polished performance quality that has defined their three-year run at the top of their sport.
FULL RESULTS
“I feel like the team event was a great way to start the Games, and we felt really comfortable when we got out on the ice tonight — as comfortable as you can be when you’re performing, and in competition mode,” Chock said after the event concluded. “But we were really happy with how we skated tonight.”
“We felt like it was even better than the team event,” Bates added. “I think the emotion at the end of the program, the hug, the smiles, the bows – that is for me, the greatest memory of the Olympic Games. It’s the feeling of accomplishment, knowing you did your best on the ice, and the rest isn’t necessarily up to us.”
LIVE REACTIONS
They were narrowly edged out of the top spot by France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who posted the top score of the night at 90.18. Skating sixth in the starting order, the French duo delivered a technically sharp, voguing-inspired rhythm dance to Madonna’s “Vogue,” earning the highest technical score of the segment. Cizeron, already an Olympic champion from Beijing, looked fully settled in his new partnership, while Fournier Beaudry matched him element-for-element as the pair took an early lead in what immediately shaped up as a tightly compressed race at the top.
