Madison Chock and Evan Bates Felt a ‘Roller Coaster of Emotions’ After Winning Silver

Figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates are bringing home gold at the team event after competing at the Winter Olympics, but their second-place finish in the ice dancing competition is drawing controversy. “We’ve certainly gone through a roller coaster of emotions, especially in the last 24 hours,” Chock said to NBC News. “And I think what we will take away is how we felt right after our skates and how proud we were of what we accomplished and how we handled ourselves throughout the whole week. Putting out four great performances at the Olympic Games is no small feat, and we’ve got a lot to be proud of.” The couple placed second in the rhythm dance and the free dance competition; France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron came in first in the overall competition, beating them by 1.43 points.

Some judges’ scores throughout the Olympics drew criticism, like two free dance scores; one judge from Spain ranked Chock and Bates third, and a judge from France ranked the French couple 7.71 points higher than the American couple — five of the nine judges ranked Chock and Bates first. 

The husband-and-wife duo, who have been fan favorites leading up to the Winter Olympics, have won three World Championships in a row and led to some confusion about their scoring but it seems like the couple accepted their second place in stride. “I feel like life is sometimes you can feel like you do everything right and it doesn’t go your way, and that’s life and that’s sport,” Bates explained. “And it’s a subjective sport. It’s a judged sport.”