Madison Chock Evan Bates win record seventh U.S. figure skating title
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U.S. figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history on Saturday with a record-breaking seventh U.S. Figure Skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The three-time reigning world champion produced his best free skate of the season, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld” and finished with 228.87 points.
“The feeling we got from the audience today was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the United States perform at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston at TD Garden on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)
They will be the biggest favorites to win the gold medal in Italy next month.
“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”
US Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik finished second with 213.65 points, while Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finished third with 206.95 points, making these two pairs possible picks to join Chock and Bates on the American roster for the upcoming Winter Games.
The men’s medals were also to be decided on Saturday, but two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-described “Quadruple God” would have to stumble big to miss out on his fourth consecutive title.
The USA has also qualified for the maximum three men’s berths for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the national podium.
The last time Chock and Bates competed at the Olympics in Beijing in 2022, they watched their gold be initially awarded to a competitor who was later disqualified for doping violations.
Chock and Bates initially had to settle for silverware on the podium with their American teammates at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, The young man, who was 15 years old at the time, was ahead of them with their gold medal.
By the end of January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, and Chock, Bates and the USA were declared the rightful owners of the 2022 gold medal.
The UN CALLED COUNTRIES TO COMPLY WITH THE CEASE CEASE DURING THE WINTER OLYMPICS AND NOT REJECT VISAS TO ATHLETES OF ANY COUNTRY
Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in the ice dancing championships at the U.S. figure skating championships on Saturday, January 27, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. He received a four-year suspension and has been deprived of all competitive results since.
Chock and Bates talked about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media summit in October.
“I think it’s hard to imagine what a 15-year-old kid goes through in that type of situation,” Bates said. “And as a 36-year-old adult, I know how stressful it is to be an elite athlete. And I think that grace should be given to all people. And we never really know, at least from our perspective. … I really don’t know what to tell him.”
Chock added: “I wish he was as good as I am. I think life is short. And at the end of the day, we’re all human beings going through our own human experiences together. And regardless of what someone does or doesn’t do and how that affects you, we’re collectively human and that’s what we’re all here for, our one moment on earth, all of us here at the same time. And I just wish for people to live healthy, happy lives, filled with people who love you. them.”
Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after their first Olympics to receive the gold medals they deserved, and were finally presented with them at a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the USA perform at the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Figure Skating Final Nagoya Grand Prix at IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan on December 07, 2025. (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)
A special gold medal ceremony was held for Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou to receive their medals in front of more than 13,000 fans.
Chock and Bates become the first ice dancers to win three awards in a row world championship They defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in almost three decades in March.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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