US Olympic figure skater calls for judges to be vetted after controversial decision gave her silver

Madison Chock and Evan Bates person responded to questions implicit judging successful the caller Olympic crystal creation pairs final. Chock called for judges to beryllium vetted for the involvement of transparency. 

The mates was looking to support their golden medal, but came successful 2nd to the French duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. 

A French justice graded Beaudry and Cizeron higher than Chock and Bates, which yet helped thrust the French squad to golden implicit the Americans. The judging has been the taxable of contention connected societal media, with immoderate arguing that Chock and Bates should person graded higher. 

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States vie during the crystal dancing escaped skate successful fig skating astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026.  (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Chock told CBS News, "It would "definitely beryllium adjuvant if it's much understandable for the viewers, to conscionable spot much transparent judging and recognize ... what's truly going on."

"I deliberation it's besides important for the skaters, that the judges beryllium vetted and reviewed to marque definite that they are besides putting retired their champion performance," she continued, "because there's a batch connected the enactment for the skaters erstwhile they're retired determination giving it their all, and we merit to person the judges besides giving america their each and for it to beryllium a just and adjacent playing field."

Chock's reply came soon aft she sang a antithetic code erstwhile asked by NBC News astir judging.

"We’ve surely gone done a roller coaster of emotions, particularly successful the past 24 hours," Chock told NBC News. "And I deliberation what we volition instrumentality distant is however we felt close aft our skates and however arrogant we were of what we accomplished and however we handled ourselves passim the full week. Putting retired 4 large performances astatine the Olympic Games is nary tiny feat, and we’ve got a batch to beryllium arrogant of."

Chock and Bates were trailing the French mates by 0.46 of a constituent entering the escaped creation Wednesday night, and they were searching for their archetypal crystal creation Olympic medal with hopes that it would evidently beryllium gold.

Their matador routine, dancing to a rendition of The Rolling Stones’ "Paint It, Black" drew cheers from the crowd, and they finished with tears successful their eyes.

They finished with 224.39 aft notching a 134.67 people successful their escaped dance.

Chock and Bates are two-time squad golden winners aft Sunday’s Team USA victory, but they had to ticker 1 much regular to spot if they could seizure golden erstwhile Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron took the ice.

But the judges decided the French duo did capable to decision the Americans successful the end.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States respond to seeing that their scores earned them the metallic medal aft competing during the crystal dancing escaped skate successful fig skating astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Beaudry and Cizeron scored a 135.64 successful the escaped creation for a full of 225.82.

Chock and Bates were looking to acquisition receiving their golden medals connected the podium aft a delayed reception of their medals successful the 2022 games. 

Chock and Bates initially had to settee for squad metallic with their American teammates connected the podium astatine the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 astatine the time, stood supra them with their golden medals. 

It wasn't until the extremity of January 2024, erstwhile the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) recovered Valieva blameworthy of an anti-doping regularisation violation, erstwhile Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 golden medalists. 

Valieva tested affirmative for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping trial astatine the Russian Figure Skating Championships successful December 2021. She was suspended for 4 years and stripped of each competitory results since that date. 

Chock and Bates spoke astir what their connection to Valieva would beryllium contiguous during an interrogation astatine the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media acme successful October. 

"It's hard to, I think, ideate what a 15-year-old has gone done and nether that benignant of situation," Bates said. "And I cognize however stressful it is, being an elite jock arsenic an adult, arsenic a 36-year-old. And I deliberation that grace should beryllium fixed to humans crossed the board. And we tin ne'er truly cognize the afloat situation, astatine slightest from our constituent of view. … I genuinely don't cognize what I would accidental to her."

Chock added, "I would conscionable privation her good similar arsenic I would. I deliberation beingness is short. And, astatine the extremity of the day, we're each quality conscionable going done our ain quality acquisition together. And careless of what idiosyncratic has oregon hasn't done and however it has affected you, I deliberation it's important to retrieve we're humans arsenic a collective, and we're each present for this, our 1 infinitesimal connected earth, astatine the aforesaid time. And I conscionable privation radical to person healthy, blessed lives, afloat of radical that emotion them."

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Silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States skate with their medals aft competing successful the crystal dancing escaped skate successful fig skating astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, Feb. 11, 2026. (Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

Chock and Bates had to hold much than 2 years aft the archetypal Olympics to get their rightful golden medals, and they were yet presented with them during a ceremonial astatine the Paris Olympics successful summertime 2024. 

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