Team USA Olympic ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates were visibly emotional after clinching the silver medal in the individual figure skating event.
“As soon as we [finished] our program, we were so happy,” Chock, 33, told NBC Sports after the Wednesday, February 12, competition. “We wouldn’t have changed anything about how we skated or how we approached this week or any of the four performances we put out on Olympic ice, and we’ve got a lot to be proud of.”
Chock and Bates, 36, lead Team USA to a gold-medal victory in the team event earlier this month. They ultimately finished in second place in the individual ice dancing competition behind French pair Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry, who started skating together in 2025. (Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, representing Team Canada, completed the podium in third place.)
“This definitely hurts,” Chock tearfully added on Wednesday.
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Chock has been skating with her husband, whom she married in 2024, for decades. Wednesday’s podium finish marked the first time that Chock and Bates earned an individual Olympic medal for ice dancing.
“[I’m] super proud,” Bates emotionally told NBC after the medal ceremony. “So proud of the journey that we’ve been on, crying so much. We really deserved our best in Milan four times, and [I am] so proud of that. We’re so lucky to get to do this, and we’ll never forget that.”
Chock and Bates were especially emotional when they saw Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry’s technical score just narrowly edged them out to earn the gold medal.
“To be honest, it’s a little disappointing,” Bates acknowledged. “We skated so great, and we’re so close. It’s like you said, it’s something we’ve been after for many years. Sometimes in life, it can feel like you do everything right and it doesn’t turn out your way, and that’s life and that’s sport.”
He concluded, “We’re very fortunate to get to do this [at] four Olympics [and earn] three Olympic medals, and we’re married so we’re gonna be fine. We’re going to go home, and we’re going to have a life.”
Chock, for her part, further stressed that she and Bates are strong enough to overcome the narrow defeat.
“We’re always stronger than we think,” Chock stated. “We can do hard things, we can overcome anything — and we’ve already won in so many ways.”
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When the pro skaters return home from Milan, they’ll return to their daily lives off the ice.
“Our day-to-day life is certainly very similar, if not completely unchanged with training and our typical routine that we have gotten used to over the years,” Chock exclusively told Us Weekly in January. “After we got married there was definitely a shift in the emotional connection and pull towards each other. It’s definitely much stronger. It’s very rooted in love and our commitment to each other, and our commitment in wanting to continue to improve as people moving forward and be the best partners we can be to each other.”
Chock and Bates’ marital life also includes their two two poodles, Henry and Stella.
“Henry and Stella are a huge part of our lives,” Chock told Us. “Skating is a huge part, but Henry and Stella are right there along with us. They’re really an active part of our entire day. [The dogs] come with us to the rink on a daily basis.”
