U.S. ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates were the heavy favorites to win Olympic gold in the free dance event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
However, they lost the top spot to French skaters Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
But, things were not as they appeared, as the American pair was controversially denied gold due to questionable scoring by French judge Jézabel Dabouis.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ Ice Dance Scoring Controversy
Chock and Bates have been a strong presence on the rink since the beginning of the 2025-26 season, taking their eighth individual Grand Prix gold medal at the 2025 Cup of China.
They also earned their third consecutive Grand Prix Final win and their seventh national title at the 2026 U.S. Championships, which subsequently qualified them for the Milan-Cortina Olympics team.
In the figure skating team event at the ongoing Winter Games, Chock and Bates scored a season’s best 91.06, helping Team USA finish first and extend their gold medal tally to two after their success at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
However, in the ice dance event, they settled for silver, losing the top spot to Beaudry and Cizeron by just 1.43 points. While this appeared acceptable at first glance, a deeper look revealed that Dabouis undervalued the U.S. pair and awarded the French duo scores above the overall mean.
This came after five of the nine judges favored Chock and Bates, but the final outcome ultimately hinged on the French judge’s marks. She scored Beaudry and Cizeron 137.45 and Team USA 129.74, a massive gap that proved to be the deciding factor on the day of the event.
Dabouis has been biased in multiple events as well, underscoring the opponents to give her preferred French dancers an edge.
In an Olympic career spanning four Games, the U.S. dancers, who won three straight World titles in 2023, 2024, and 2025, fell just short of securing individual gold. While the laurel seemed within reach this time, it slipped away again due to the judge’s dubious scoring.
The American couple was visibly in tears, and Chock spoke to reporters in the mixed zone, saying they had given their all in both performances and that the podium moment felt “bittersweet.” He also shared that he would not change anything about their approach, even though it cost them the win in Milan-Cortina.
At the Four Continents Championships, Chock and Bates won eight medals, three of which were gold.
