World Figure Skating Championships: Madison Chock and Evan Bates on cusp of second straight ice dance title
The American duo leads fellow veteran contenders Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, who are in second, while home hopes Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier sit in third place.
Figure Skating
A year ago Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won their maiden world title in their 10th appearance at the World Figure Skating Championships.
Saturday (23 March) they'll go for two in a row.
The veteran American duo leads an experienced top three after the ice dance rhythm dance in Montreal on Friday (22 March), scoring a 90.08 to take the lead over Italians Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (87.52) and home hopes Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada, who notched a 86.51.
The trio of teams finished 1-2-3 at Worlds a year ago.
Chock/Bates were confident from the start of their Queen medley rhythm dance, and hit their twizzle sequence with the reward of Level 4s (the highest) from the judges, receiving a roaring applause from the crowd. They punctuated the program with a seamless rotational lift to close, bringing the arena to its feet.
"We went out there, and I know it sounds cheesy, but to have the time of our lives," said Bates after the rhythm dance. "We've been looking to a Montreal Worlds for a long time."
"Being here for an 11th world championships, healthy and still enjoying it all, it's the greatest victory of all."
The three-time Olympic duo has not lost on international ice since NHK Trophy during the Grand Prix Series in 2022. They have been based in Montreal as their training city since 2018.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain (84.60) and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Canada (82.30) round out the top five.
Ice dance: Top 3 showcase longevity in discipline
There were no great surprise in the rhythm dance standings, with the top three teams also having finished in that order at the Grand Prix Final in December.
It was a first experience coming in as defending champions, however, for Chock/Bates, but the Americans said they were handling the situation on their own terms.
"It's a new year... we're coming in and giving our best," said Chock.
Asked if they were viewing it as defending a world title or attacking, she said: "We're doing both. I would say we're doing less defending. We're here to compete. It's as much pressure as you want to put on yourself, so you decide how difficult you want to make it."
Each of Chock/Bates, Guignard/Fabbri and Gilles/Poirier have been to over 10 world championships side-by-side, a testament to the longevity in the discipline, which often rewards teams growing their body of work over time.
"It can take so long to get to this level of competition in ice dance," Poirier explained. "One of the greatest change I've seen in my career is the level of care we take of ourselves... you're seeing more and more athletes in all sports having more longevity."
"We can continue to compete as long as we want to and don't get stopped by injuries. We can continue to compete as long as we feel motivated to create."