Additional Coverage:
MILAN – American ice dancing darlings Madison Chock and Evan Bates clinched their first individual Olympic medal on Wednesday, securing a silver after a nail-biting two-day showdown against their French rivals.
This silver medal marks a significant moment of redemption for the four-time Olympians and real-life spouses. After narrowly missing the podium in Beijing four years ago, they’ve since claimed three consecutive national titles, proving their enduring prowess on the ice.
However, the win comes with a touch of bittersweetness, as Chock herself described it. The seasoned veterans, who were heavily favored for gold, ultimately lost by a mere 1.43 points to the newly formed French duo, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
“We really gave it our all, and I wouldn’t change anything about how we approached each performance, what we delivered in each performance,” Chock, typically composed, told reporters through tears. “We really gave it our best.
And that’s what we set out to do coming to these Games. So I think we have got a lot to be proud of, and a lot to be grateful for, ’cause we’ve had an incredible career, so well-supported by our families, and our coaches, by each other, and sometimes that’s just how it shakes out.”
Chock and Bates are among the most experienced skaters representing Team USA and at these Games overall. They played a crucial role in securing Team USA’s second consecutive gold medal in the team event last weekend, delivering back-to-back season’s best performances in both their programs.
Yet, they faced formidable competition in the individual event from a much newer-and more controversial-pairing. Beaudry and Cizeron, the reigning European champions, only teamed up last year, and questions surrounding their former partners have continued to follow them to Milan.
The French pair entered Wednesday’s rhythm dance competition with a lead of less than a full point over Chock and Bates, putting immense pressure on the Americans to deliver a flawless free dance.
“The game is always on, and you should know us by now: we’re not changing anything,” Chock stated emphatically at the end of the night. “We’ve got this locked in, we know ourselves, we know our routine, and we got this.”
They certainly delivered, earning another season’s best score with their fiery flamenco-inspired “Paint It Black” program, featuring Chock fiercely embodying a matador in a vibrant scarlet skirt. But in the end, Beaudry and Cizeron, the final duo of the night, swept in with their matching teal outfits to narrowly unseat the Americans from the top spot.
“It has a very particular taste, this medal,” Cizeron remarked afterward. “It was a huge challenge. We went for it and we couldn’t be happier.”
The bronze medal went to Canadian fan favorites Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who captivated the audience with their Vincent Van Gogh-themed program, both in costume and music. The three-time Olympians left the ice in a tearful embrace, knowing they had secured their well-deserved medal.
French Duo Navigates Off-Ice Drama
Cizeron and Beaudry’s partnership formed last year out of necessity, as both skaters were in search of new partners. However, the controversies surrounding their previous partnerships have trailed them to Milan.
Cizeron’s former partnership with Gabriella Papadakis is widely regarded as one of ice dance’s most successful, yielding two Olympic medals-including a gold in Beijing-and five world titles before their official split in December 2024 without much public explanation.
However, in January, mere weeks before the Olympic opening ceremony, Papadakis released a revealing book detailing their two-decade-long partnership (which began in childhood) as deeply unequal. She accused Cizeron of being a “controlling” and “demanding” partner, describing herself as feeling “under his grip,” according to translations from the Associated Press.
Cizeron has vehemently denied these accusations, labeling them a “smear campaign,” and has put his lawyers on notice against further claims. Papadakis has since stated that she lost her Olympics commentary job with NBC as a result.
“I use my experience to highlight a reality: as long as survivors are punished for speaking out, the sport cannot truly change or become safer,” she wrote on Instagram earlier this week. “As the Winter Olympics unfold, I encourage you to engage critically with the spectacle. Spectators have power, and the way we choose to watch, support, question, or look away helps shape the culture of the sport.”
At one point on Wednesday, the jumbotron at the Milano Ice Skating Arena even panned over several women in the crowd with the title of Papadakis’ book scrawled on their bare arms.
In March 2025, Cizeron teamed up with Beaudry, who had previously skated for Denmark and then Canada.
Beaudry’s former skating partner, whom she is still dating, was suspended from the sport in 2024 following accusations that he sexually assaulted an American figure skater/coach in 2012, which he denies. Canada’s Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner banned Nikolaj Sorensen for at least six years over “sexual maltreatment,” though the ban was overturned in June 2025 due to jurisdictional issues. He has not returned to competition.
Beaudry defended her boyfriend of 12 years in the Netflix docuseries Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing, which premiered just days before the start of the Olympics.
“When they decided to suspend him, it meant that his career was over, which also meant that my career was over,” she said. “This was extremely difficult because it was not only about skating, it was about my integrity, it was about his integrity.
I know my boyfriend 100 percent. I know him.
And we [stood] strong together.”
The survivor-whose name has not been made public-told USA Today earlier this month that such comments “create a dangerous environment for skaters who need to report abuse.” When asked to respond, Beaudry told the outlet: “We have no thoughts.”
What’s Next for Chock and Bates
Chock and Bates began their skating partnership in 2011, started dating six years later, and married in 2024. Chock is often the designer of their costumes-and even some for their competitors this year.
The couple trains in Montreal, where they reside with their two toy poodles, Henry and Stella, who made a cameo at the Games in pin form for some traditional Olympic trading. Milan marks their fourth Olympics together and Bates’ fifth overall, positioning them in a somewhat parental role on a team largely composed of first-timers. Their younger teammates attest that Chock and Bates have embraced this role admirably.
“I like to call them Mr. and Mrs. America,” Amber Glenn, 26, said over the weekend.
“They are absolutely incredible people and incredible athletes.” After Wednesday’s results, Glenn fondly referred to them as “my Olympic champions.”
It was Bates who famously warned the U.S. team that the ribbons holding their gold medals could pull off if they jumped around too much-prescient advice he immediately ignored himself.
Bates similarly offered words of praise for the younger skaters on Team USA during the opening week.
“The depth is there and the talent is there,” he said. “But more than anything, what I noticed about the younger generation is the spirit, the curiosity, the fearlessness. It’s the perfect balance of handling the nerves and just going out there with absolute joy and freedom.”
U.S. duo Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, in particular, are seen as following in the couple’s footsteps, placing fifth on Wednesday.
At the start of the Games, when asked about ongoing back and neck issues, Bates, 36, acknowledged, “there’s mileage on the body.”
“What we do isn’t easy and it’s very physical,” he said. “We’ve been really smart and intentional with our training this year, limiting the number of reps on things like lifts that could potentially cause a problem.”
After their medal ceremony on Wednesday, the couple was asked if the result ignited a hunger to return to competition. Chock sadly shook her head, while Bates stated, “not at the moment.”
Their future on the ice may be uncertain, but their partnership, off the ice, is unequivocally solid.
“The skating career is something short and finite, and the relationship is much, much longer,” Bates told NPR in October.