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Madison Chock and Evan Bates took home a medal in the 2026 Winter Olympics, but people are saying they should have gotten a different one.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are here, and Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who are married, fell just short of getting the gold medal in the free skate competition with a 0.97 margin. Instead, at the Olympics event, Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Beaudry Fournier from France scored the gold with a higher technical score of 77.06 to Chock and Bates’ 76.75, giving them the gold and Chock and Bates the silver.
So, while it’s great to see Chock and Bates earn the USA a silver medal in this elegant sport, not everyone is happy with the result. The moment the results came in, viewers, including Olympic analysts and experts, chimed in with their opinions.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates Get Support From Olympic Professionals and Viewers
Live Milan reporter Lukas Weese of The Athletic didn’t agree with the judge’s decision. He made that known in his report on the competition, too.
“The judges gave Cizeron/Beaudry Fournier a higher technical score (77.06) than Chock/Bates (76.75), which is fair,” he stated in a piece published right after the results came in on Wednesday, February 11. “What I disagree is the composition, presentation and skating skills, which favored the French duo.”
“I felt that the emotion and performance quality of Chock/Bates was higher, aided with a better song choice,” he added. “The crowd agreed. The judges didn’t see it that way and that’s why France is the Olympic champion by the slimmest of margins.”
Viewers also took to X to get their voices heard. “They should have won,” one said. “They deserved the gold,” one more added. “They won the gold medal there performance was a lot better then the French,” another said.
“Their free dance was very strong tonight but it was definitely stronger during the team event,” one more added. “I think the Olympics needs to move the team event and make it the last competition. Madison and Bates most likely fired their best shots during that and just could not replicate it again.”
Before the 2026 Olympics, Madison Chock and Evan Bates Married in a Picturesque Wedding in Hawaii
In lighter news, even though these two didn’t bring home the gold, they’re obviously in love. Madison Chock and Evan Bates were married in 2024 “in a romantic seaside wedding in Hawaii on Thursday, June 20,” according to People magazine.
“The couple tells People they got the idea to have their nuptials in Hawaii since Chock’s parents were born and raised there,” the magazine adds. “Fittingly, they opted for a ‘tropical wedding theme,’ incorporating several Hawaiian traditions into their big day, including a lei exchange and music popular to the islands.”
“The leis represent unity and the coming together of separate elements to make a whole greater than the sum of its parts,” Chock told People. “In marriage, you come together as individuals to create a partnership together.”
It was actually a dream come true, with Chock also telling People, “It’s always been a dream of mine to get married in Hawaii. We were so excited to share the magical celebration with our loved ones, many of whom traveled to Hawaii for the first time.”
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
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