Team USA’s ice dancers appear to be moving on from the controversial scoring decision that seemingly snubbed them from a second gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates won’t be filing an appeal after all in the wake of the ice dancing final scoring scandal, where a French judge appeared to show favor toward France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, USA Today Sports reported Sunday.
In a statement to the outlet, U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, “There has been a lot of thoughtful, and at times emotional, discussion about the ice dance competition in Milan.
“Working together with Madi and Evan after the Games, we will have thoughtful and intentional discussions about the best way to support them and the future of the sport,” Farrell continued. “For now, we plan to join them in supporting the success of U.S. Figure Skating in Milan.”
Chock and Bates previously said they would “consider” submitting an appeal following their silver medal performance in the ice dancing final. The controversy stemmed from a French judge handing out lopsided scoring that brought down the American pair’s score and boosted the French duo.
The 24-hour window to appeal the Feb. 11 results has long passed, though USFS could still take action by sending a letter of concern to the International Skating Union, according to USA Today Sports.
French figure skating judge Jézabel Dabois came under fire last week after Beaudry and Cizeron edged out Chock and Bates with a total score of 225.82 – just 1.43 points better than the American duo – to win the gold medal.
Dabois’ scores drastically differed from those of her fellow judges and herself when it came to the American and French skaters.
Many in the skating world were up in arms over the results, and Chock and Bates couldn’t hide their surprise when interviewed on national TV after the scores came in and they learned of their fate.
Bates later told USA Today that, “We felt like we delivered our absolute best performance that we could have. It was our Olympic moment. It felt like a winning skate to us, and that’s what we’re going to hold on to.”
This was Bates and Chock’s four Olympics together and first individual medal in ice dancing. In addition to earning silver, the figure skating partners own two Olympic gold medals from the team event, including one from this year’s Games.
