Madison Chock, Evan Bates take ice dance lead in bid for World Championships three-peat
BOSTON — Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates posted the world's best rhythm dance score in two years, opening their bid to become the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world titles in 28 years.
Chock and Bates tallied 90.18 points at TD Garden on Friday, taking a 3.74-point lead going into Saturday's free dance (1:30-5 p.m. ET, Peacock, and 3-5 p.m., USA Network).
Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who beat Chock and Bates at the Four Continents Championships last month, are in second. Gilles and Poirier are three-time world medalists — all silver or bronze.
Chock and Bates are trying to become the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world titles since Russians Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov won four in a row from 1994-97.
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Chock and Bates, ice dance partners since 2011 and married since last June, are already the oldest world champions in the event's history.
Their leads after the rhythm dance at worlds were slightly smaller in 2023 (3.37) and 2023 (2.56).
Now 32 and 36, they will bid next year to make a fourth Olympics together and hope to win their first Olympic medals in ice dance. They are already gold medalists from the team event in 2022.
Worlds continues later Saturday with the women's free skate, starting at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock with NBC also coming on at 8 p.m. for the final groups.
Philip Hersh,
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