Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates will have to wait to add an individual Olympic gold to their extensive combined figure skating résumé.
The American couple took home silver in the Olympic ice dance competition, finishing with 224.39 overall points after a statement performance during Wednesday’s free dance set to the theme of bullfighting.
France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron stole the show, however, scoring a 135.64 for their free dance routine — and a total score of 224.39 — to just edge out Chock and Bates for the gold.
Canadian duo Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier rounded out the podium with a total score of 217.74 for bronze as all three pairs each earned their first Olympic medals in ice dance.
The American duo had entered Wednesday’s competition trailing behind the French pair by less than a point following the rhythm dance event that had taken place Monday.
Chock and Bates performed their routine to an instrumental version of “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones and wowed the crowd, which roared after the couple finished their performance. The judges agreed and awarded them a 134.67 score, a season’s best for the two, that vaulted them into first place.
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Beaudry and Cizeron went last and completed their routine to the soundtrack from “The Whale.” They still managed to get the best score of the night even after receiving a lower level in their twizzle sequence.
Chock and Bates, who have been an on-ice pair for 15 years and got married in 2024, applauded Beaudry and Cizeron after their score was read.
The American duo had come to Milan hoping to achieve individual gold after already winning three world championships and seven national titles. Their best finish in the Olympics came in Beijing four years ago when they finished fourth.
Fellow American pairs Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik finished in fifth place with a total score of 209.58 and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko placed 11th with a 197.62 total score. Both pairs were making their Olympic debut.
Beaudry and Cizeron’s gold comes amid a swell of controversy between the two of them.
Cizeron had been accused by his former longtime figure skating partner, Gabriella Papadakis, of being “often controlling, demanding and critical” and that she did not want to be alone with him in a memoir published in January. He denied the claims, calling them a “smear campaign,” and said he would be pursuing legal action.
Meanwhile, Beaudry’s boyfriend and partner, Nikolaj Sørensen, had been banned by Skate Canada over allegations of “sexual maltreatment” made by an American figure skating coach and former skater. The suspension was overturned on jurisdictional grounds last June and Beaudry has publicly defended Sørensen on a number of occasions.
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