The 2026 Winter Olympics ice dance competition is officially over, but the drama? Very much alive. Madison Chock and Evan Bates skated their hearts out, delivered what many fans called the cleanest free dance of the night… and still walked away 1.43 points shy of gold.
France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron took the top spot with a total score of 225.82, edging out Chock and Bates’ 224.39. And let’s just say, viewers have thoughts.
Going into the free dance, the married Team USA duo were already trailing by 0.46 points after the rhythm dance. They scored a world-best 89.72 on Monday, but the French pair slightly topped them with a 90.18. Tight? Yes. Suspiciously tight? Also yes, according to fans.
For the free dance, Chock and Bates performed to “Paint It Black” from “Westworld” and earned 134.67. Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron skated to music from “The Whale” and scored 135.64.
During the French routine, Cizeron appeared to bobble a twizzle — a one-footed traveling spin that judges typically scrutinize closely. Viewers clocked it immediately. However, the pair were not significantly marked down, and their technical and artistic scores ultimately surpassed the Americans’.
One French judge reportedly scored the Americans more than seven points lower than the French duo — which is a wide gap in ice dance scoring. Five of the nine judges favored Chock and Bates overall, while three slightly leaned toward the French team.
When asked by CBS News whether the judging system needs changes, Chock didn’t go full Housewife reunion mode — but she definitely didn’t hold back either.
“It would definitely be helpful if it’s more understandable for the viewers, to just see more transparent judging and understand … what’s really going on,” she said.
She continued, “I think it’s also important for the skaters, that the judges be vetted and reviewed to make sure that they are also putting out their best performance, because there’s a lot on the line for the skaters when they’re out there giving it their all, and we deserve to have the judges also giving us their all and for it to be a fair and even playing field.”
After the event, Madison called the result “bittersweet.”
“We have had the most incredible year — 15 years on the ice together; first Olympics as a married couple. And we delivered four of our best performances this week. I think we’re really proud of how we handled ourselves here and what we accomplished.”
Evan echoed that sentiment, saying it was their “absolute best performance” and that it “felt like a winning skate to us and that’s what we’re going to hold on to.”
But fans aren’t just talking about the scoring. The French partnership itself has also faced scrutiny off the ice. Fournier Beaudry’s boyfriend and former skating partner, Nikolaj Sørensen, was previously suspended over sexual assault allegations — a suspension later overturned on jurisdictional grounds. Cizeron has also publicly denied allegations of abusive conduct made by former partner Gabriella Papadakis.
Chock and Bates are still deciding what’s next. The 2026 World Figure Skating Championships are coming up in Prague, and they are the reigning world champions.
