Madison Chock, Evan Bates eye double gold at Milano Cortina 2026 as passion for sport burns bright
The newly married U.S. ice dancers have skated together for more than a decade but still find inspiration in their craft.
Figure Skating
As veteran American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates took to the ice at October’s Skate America in Allen, Texas, the in-arena announcer read off a newly minted line in their extensive bio: Olympic gold medallists.
It was the first time Chock and Bates had skated since receiving their Beijing 2022 team golds during a medal ceremony held earlier this year at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
“I wasn’t paying too much attention, but then, I did hear it and I was like, ‘Wait! That’s us. My goodness,’” Chock recalled of the moment in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com following the event. “That was pretty cool. It’s still surreal to hear that. We don’t hear it that often.”
“It still feels like there are some firsts for us,” added Bates. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ It hasn’t really sunk in yet, and I feel like it’s just been such a dream of ours for such a long time to win an Olympic gold medal.”
In 14 seasons together, the newly married couple has accomplished nearly everything there is to achieve in the sport: Olympic gold, U.S. and world titles. The pair will go for a second-straight Grand Prix Final win this week in Grenoble, France.
That doesn’t mean Chock and Bates are resting on their laurels – far from it.
“I think we would certainly like to get another Olympic gold medal, maybe two in the team event and the individual,” said Chock. “I think those are big goals for us. Medal-wise, we’d also like to get another world [title].”
Their goals are clear, the product of a decision not taken lightly and one based on pivotal moments that have shaped their journey, starting with the heartbreak of narrowly missing the individual podium at Beijing 2022.
“It’s been in the back of our mind for a long time, I would say probably since the Beijing Olympics when we came in fourth and we were so close, so close that we could almost taste it,” explained Chock. “That was a real big reflecting point for us.
“We decided to not put so much pressure and be like, ‘Okay, we’re going for the next Olympics’ right away. We were like, ‘Okay, well, we don’t know how things might shift or change,’” she continued. “After we won our first world title, we were like, ‘Okay, we’ll reevaluate after we get married,’ but I think our love for the sport is really still burning strong, along with our passion and our creativity.
“We just feel like there’s still more to tap into and more for us to learn and achieve, so I think it was pretty clear, in the last year, that we wanted to go for Milan,” Chock concluded.
‘Students of the Game’
It’s that passion for the sport, both say, that keeps them coming back year after year.
“We really love skating,” says Bates. “It’s not always easy. We have bad days. We have stress leading into competitions, but I think anchoring into that love of skating, that inner child just gliding around the ice for the fun of it when we first fell in love with the sport, I feel like that is still really alive and well in the two of us.”
“We still also feel like we’re learning,” adds Chock. “We like to say that we’re students of the game, students of the sport, and so every day in training, we’re always looking to get that one percent better.”
With their sights set on Milano Cortina 2026, Chock and Bates know that achieving their ambitious goals starts with refining their craft every day in training. This season, that has meant a specific focus on their speed.
“We really focused this year on integrating our elements into the choreography to make it a real cohesive package and then working on speed and flow throughout that,” explained Bates.
But beyond their more technical goals is an emotional one.
“For us… it’s about how we want to get on the ice and have that feeling, that glide, that ease, that feeling of effortlessness,” said Chock. “It can sometimes be elusive if you’re not in the right mindset, but it’s addicting when you get the feeling of it. That’s kind of what we’re always looking for, searching for in our skating, that just really like oozy, good feeling of dance and connection and being very present in the moment.”
Inspiring a legacy
That ongoing search may explain why Chock and Bates agree that their ultimate goals, in what could be the final chapters of their career, extend beyond medals and records.
“Apart from results, I think really the goal is what kind of legacy can we leave behind? What can we do to help inspire young skaters to take up skating?” said Chock. “Because it’s such a special sport. It’s so unique in how it makes you feel and the community that it’s created. There’s nothing like it.
“The skating community is truly like a family,” she continued. “People come together through their love of skating. It’s really special and really inspiring.
“We hope we can be a little part of that, shaping the sport moving forward.”