The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway, and fans are tuning into see who is coming home with the gold. Recently, there has been some upset over the scores for the ice dancing teams. In particular, U.S. fans have been discussing Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ ultimate scores during the recent competition.
Madison Chock & Evan Bates Are A Married In Addition To Being Skating Partners
Madison Chock and Evan Bates are a husband-and-wife team of skating partners. Together, they are two-time gold medalists in team events during the Winter Olympics of 2022 and 2026. The two also represented the United States in 2014 and 2018 during the event.
After being partnered together on ice for years, the two started a relationship around 2017. They married on June 20, 2024, in Hawaii.
Recently, the two competed during the 2026 Winter Olympics. During the Milan-Cortina Games, the two performed to “Paint It Black.”
In their coverage of the story, The Sporting News dubbed the performance “breathtaking” and “nearly flawless.” However, Chock and Bates settled for silver in favor of the French duo, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skated their asses off and somehow France ended up in first place and they got silver despite the French team making mistakes.
They were robbed. pic.twitter.com/EdEc4K1asa
— Lily* (@300mirrors) February 11, 2026
As the outlet noted, the decision proved to be controversial, as the French team was awarded nearly eight points higher than the Americans in free dance by a French judge despite a visible bobble during their twizzle sequence. Despite this, five of the nine judges appeared to favor Chock and Bates.
The French team ultimately won by a slight margin of 1.43 points. However, the ruling has since sparked claims of nationalistic judging. In the free dance, the French judge’s scoring proved to be a massive statistical outlier. Chock and Bates could have likely won the gold if the French judge’s score had been closer to the rest of the panel.
Sports Fans Have Been Sharing Their Reactions To The Story On Social Media
This was likely the final Olympic performance for Chock and Bates. Beforehand, they were considered heavy favorites for the gold this year.
While there is no proof that judges had been unfair with their rulings, the move has still proved controversial with U.S. sports fans. As the outlet noted, while the French judge was criticized for a possible nationalistic bias, the Spanish judge’s scores were also controversial, being seen as “strategic lowballing” of the Americans, with Chock and Bates being given their lowest scores of the night.
An emotional Madison Chock on how she and Evan Bates felt after finishing their performance tonight: pic.twitter.com/MfHWJsUhtB
— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) February 11, 2026
Taking to social media, as the outlet noted, many fans expressed sympathy for Chock and Bates. Many felt there were double standards considering the other teams’ performances. Some comments included:
- “Madison Chock and Evan Bates skated their asses off and somehow France ended up in first place and they got silver despite the French team making mistakes.”
- “I’ve watched it 6 times already- she’s captivating- they were ROBBED. The French judged them —-YES NINE points lower than the French team. If you see 9 Points of difference? In the country you just so happen to be from? You have no business judging. Investigate the French fraud.”
- “It’s ice dancing, not ice acrobatics — this is way better than the French pair’s routine. Even they were not convinced that they won.”
- “Can they demand they review the scores? This is so unfair, the French team had a Bobble and win? The USA team was perfect?”
Simply BEAUTIFUL. This is what 15 years of skating together looks like. 😍 pic.twitter.com/UQhpVEBB90
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 11, 2026
What is your reaction to the recent 2026 Winter Olympics scores? Have you been following this story? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
