The ice dance event at 2026 Winter Olympics stirred a storm of controversy as the American duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates were denied gold by the French pairing of Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry. The scoring in the final dances drew some scrutiny from fans, and eventually led to the American silver-medalists demanding ‘transparent judging’ in the sport.
Chock and Bates entered the ice dance finals as heavy favorites for the gold. The married duo delivered on expectations, executing a nearly flawless performance that saw them earn a score of 224.39 (a 76.75 technical elements score and a 57.92 program components score). As the Americans exited the ice, many were convinced that they had sealed their place on top of the podium.
A little while after Chock and Bates, Cizeron and Beaudry got down to business. The French pair displayed an impressive performance that nevertheless paled in comparison to their American opponents. However, the duo scored a 225.82 (a technical elements score of 77.06 and a program components score of 58.58).
While there is a narrow difference in the scores on surface level, a majority of the controversy surrounding the ice dance finals came due to the scores of French judge Jezabel Dabouis. Dabouis gave Madison Chock and Evan Bates a score of 129.74, while awarding Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry a score of 137.45. This nearly eight point gap in the scores for the two pairs caught the attention of fans, with many accusing the French judge of partiality.
Everything Madison Chock and Evan Bates said about the judging controversy
After the 2026 Winter Olympics ice dance finals, Madison Chock and Evan Bates weighed in on the controversial scoring in Milano-Cortina. Talking to CBS News, Chock demanded more transparency in judging, saying,
“I think it would definitely be helpful if it’s more understandable for the viewers to just see more transparent judging and understand what’s really going on. It’s also important for the skaters that the judges be vetted and reviewed to make sure that they are also putting out their best performance because there’s a lot on the line for the skaters, when they’re out there giving it their all. We deserve to have the judges also giving us their all and for it to be a fair and even playing field.”
In a separate interview Chock went on to add that confusing results are a ‘disservice’ to the sport of ice dance, saying (as quoted by USA Today),
“Any time the public is confused by results, it does a disservice to our sport. It’s hard to retain fans when it’s difficult to understand what is happening on the ice. I think there needs to be a lot more clarity for the skaters, for the coaches and for the audience, in order to just have a solid fan base moving forward. People need to understand what they’re cheering for and be able to feel confident in the sport that they’re supporting.”
The 2026 Winter Olympics will likely be Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ last appearance at the Games. Outside of their silver medal in ice dance, the Americans are two-time Olympic gold-medalists in the team events.
Edited by Riddhi Acharya
