Madison Chock and Evan Bates, U.S. ice dance stars, win third straight world title
BOSTON — For a duo that's done just about it all, this was one of the highs.
On Saturday at TD Garden, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the venerable American ice dancers, captured their third consecutive world championship gold medal. After comfortably winning the rhythm dance portion, Chock and Bates delivered a clutch free dance with their trademark refinement and energy. Their score of 131.88 comfortably delivered the gold with a total score of 222.06, confirming their elite status in the sport.
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Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won silver with a score of 216.54. Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson took bronze with a 207.11.
The figure skating couple of Chock and Bates is an American institution. They are the first to win three consecutive world championship ice dancing golds since Russians Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov won four straight between 1994 and 1997. The only other American pair to win at worlds was Meryl Davis and Charlie White in 2011 and 2013. They also won silver in 2010 and 2012.
This is the sixth world championship medal for Chock, 32, and Bates, 36. With their first coming in 2015, a silver, they now have a decade between podium appearances at worlds. They also won bronze in 2016 and 2022.
The only accolade missing from their resume is an ice dance medal at the Winter Olympics. The six-time U.S. national champions and three-time Olympians have a gold from the team event in 2022. But the quality they've accrued seems to warrant a new pinnacle. It sure feels like it's their time.
Saturday, they didn't rise to the occasion as much as they descended to it. After a breathtaking performance from Fear and Gibson, followed by an even more ambitious showing from Gilles and Paul Poirier, there was no questioning whether Chock and Bates could top it. Their best is more than enough. The question is whether they had it with them on this day.
Their ode to swing dancing launched with a subtle sultry to Miles Davis' trumpet in ''Round Midnight' from 1957 and escalated in sophistication, culminating on Frizzo's 2014 jam'Take Five.' The chemistry of Chock and Bates shined in their seamless transitions, in the effortlessness of their complicated lifts, in how the pressure never seemed to faze them. Nearing their 14th anniversary as an official duo, and third as a married couple, their trust is tangible in what they dare and their expertise in each other evident in how well they execute.
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When they were done, their absence of doubt was transferred to the packed house. Chock and Bates feel inevitable right now.
Americans Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko posted a season-best score of 123.37 in Saturday's free dance, putting them into the lead entering the final group of five pairs. They finished fifth with a total score of 204.88.
(Photo of Evan Bates and Madison Chock celebrating after Saturday's routine: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
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