MILAN — The biggest question in figure skating right now: How did Madison Chock and Evan Bates not win ice dance gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
The married duo were the favorites entering these Games, but had to settle for silver with the French team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron winning gold. The decision stirred sharp reaction from American fans and fellow U.S. figure skaters on social media and elsewhere. The enduring sentiment is that Chock and Bates performed a flawless free dance strong enough to lock up gold.
Beaudry and Cizeron, who carried a 0.46-point lead entering the night, had a good but not as sharp skate. However, they ended up with a better score: a 135.64 to Chock and Bates' 134.67 – a victory margin of 1.43 points.
How did it happen? Here's how the judges' scores for both teams broke down and what they reveal.
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