11/16/25 03:17:00
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11/16 15:15 CST Chock and Bates mesmerize with flamenco free dance to win
record-tying fifth Skate America
Chock and Bates mesmerize with flamenco free dance to win record-tying fifth
Skate America
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
Madison Chock and Evan Bates won a record-tying fifth Skate America on Sunday
with a theatrical, flamenco-styled free dance, which earned them the best score
in the world this season and kept the Americans on track for the Milan Cortina
Olympics.
The three-time reigning ice dance world champions, who will be favored to win
gold at the Winter Games in February, had a big lead after their short program
Saturday. They pulled away with a free dance choreographed to a version of the
Rolling Stones hit "Paint It Black" from the dystopian sci-fi western series
"Westworld," finishing with a score of 212.58 points.
Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Canada were second with 197.16 points.
Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France were third with 192.61
points, while the U.S. team of Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko
finished in fifth.
"Every opportunity we have to comptete lends us a new insight and new things to
take away," Chock said, "and this is no different. We are certainly going to
take away the good things and good feelings from this performance."
The women's medals will be decided later Sunday on the final day of the
penultimate Grand Prix event of the season.
Chock and Bates were sharper than they were when winning the Cup of China last
month in a program that seemed to mesmerize the home-nation crowd in Lake
Placid, New York. Chock and Bates are known for creative storytelling, and the
flamenco program they have designed for the Olympics is no different, with
Chock playing the role of the matador and Bates the bull.
Good luck to anyone getting in their way.
While scores generally improve as the season progresses, Chock and Bates' score
on Sunday surpassed the previous best mark this season, a 211.01 from the
French team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron at the Grand
Prix de France.
"We can make a lot of improvements on both programs, especially this free
dance," said Bates, who along with Chock helped the U.S. win team gold at the
Beijing Olympics but has never stood on an Olympic podium in the actual ice
dance competition.
"We feel like it has the potential to be a very powerful free dance," he said.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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