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Madison Chock and Evan Bates have racked up plenty of accolades over the course of their 15-year ice-dancing partnership. Aside from this being their fourth Winter Olympics as a figure skating team, they've earned more U.S. ice dance titles than any duo in history (seven) and are the first U.S. ice dance team to win three consecutive titles at the World Figure Skating Championships (2023, 2024 and 2025).
After winning gold with the U.S. figure skating team in the 2022 Winter Olympics, and more recently the 2026 games currently underway in Milan Cortina, Chock and Bates are vying for individual gold medals in what could be their final Olympics.
Not bad for a couple of newlyweds competing at the pinnacle of their sport.
Chock and Bates, who married in June 2024 after an eight-year courtship and 13-year professional partnership, have excelled on the ice since they first met as figure skaters in Michigan. Bates auditioned to be Chock's partner in 2011, the couple told the New York Times, and despite their noticeable height difference not often seen among teams in the sport, they quickly hit it off.
Despite their chemistry on the ice, the pair didn't pursue a romantic relationship for five years and waited another before going public with it in 2017. But Bates told the Times his feelings for Chock were clear to him years earlier, noting how easy it was for him to play up the romance during a competition in 2014.
“I realized it wasn’t really that difficult because I really did feel those strong emotions for Maddie,” he told the outlet.
After Bates told Chock how he felt in 2016, she said she wasn't all that surprised and admitted she felt the same way. What held her back was everything they had been working for since 2011, she told the Times. “That was something in my head: I’m never going to date my skating partner."
Their careers didn't slow down as they settled into their new relationship, competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics and moving to Montreal that year to work with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. They continued to compete globally and nabbed their first gold medal with the U.S. figure skating team at the 2022 Winter Olympics. That same year, Bates proposed to Chock in Thailand, and the couple finally married in Hawaii two years later.
The couple said in 2024 they were excited about their "post-skating" future after the 2026 Winter Olympics while still appreciating the time they still had to compete as newlyweds. Now, as they prepare for their best shot at gold, they appreciate how their professional partnership has shaped their marriage.
“Skating was always the main focus, but as we've gotten older, I think the relationship has become the main focus,” Bates said in an interview with People in January. “Skating obviously is still the main focus, but skating is kind of like our means of strengthening ourselves and our relationship and going through all the experiences of life together, and so the appreciation for the partnership has grown.”
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Madison Chock and Evan Bates: Husband and wife are Olympics legends
Continue reading...
After winning gold with the U.S. figure skating team in the 2022 Winter Olympics, and more recently the 2026 games currently underway in Milan Cortina, Chock and Bates are vying for individual gold medals in what could be their final Olympics.
Not bad for a couple of newlyweds competing at the pinnacle of their sport.
Chock and Bates, who married in June 2024 after an eight-year courtship and 13-year professional partnership, have excelled on the ice since they first met as figure skaters in Michigan. Bates auditioned to be Chock's partner in 2011, the couple told the New York Times, and despite their noticeable height difference not often seen among teams in the sport, they quickly hit it off.
Despite their chemistry on the ice, the pair didn't pursue a romantic relationship for five years and waited another before going public with it in 2017. But Bates told the Times his feelings for Chock were clear to him years earlier, noting how easy it was for him to play up the romance during a competition in 2014.
“I realized it wasn’t really that difficult because I really did feel those strong emotions for Maddie,” he told the outlet.
After Bates told Chock how he felt in 2016, she said she wasn't all that surprised and admitted she felt the same way. What held her back was everything they had been working for since 2011, she told the Times. “That was something in my head: I’m never going to date my skating partner."
Their careers didn't slow down as they settled into their new relationship, competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics and moving to Montreal that year to work with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. They continued to compete globally and nabbed their first gold medal with the U.S. figure skating team at the 2022 Winter Olympics. That same year, Bates proposed to Chock in Thailand, and the couple finally married in Hawaii two years later.
The couple said in 2024 they were excited about their "post-skating" future after the 2026 Winter Olympics while still appreciating the time they still had to compete as newlyweds. Now, as they prepare for their best shot at gold, they appreciate how their professional partnership has shaped their marriage.
“Skating was always the main focus, but as we've gotten older, I think the relationship has become the main focus,” Bates said in an interview with People in January. “Skating obviously is still the main focus, but skating is kind of like our means of strengthening ourselves and our relationship and going through all the experiences of life together, and so the appreciation for the partnership has grown.”
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Madison Chock and Evan Bates: Husband and wife are Olympics legends
Continue reading...
