Madison Chock and Evan Bates Out to Make History

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are chasing history. The two-time U.S. champions could be the first American ice dance team to qualify for three Olympic Winter Games should they earn a berth following the conclusion of the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville, Tennessee. With Chock and his previous partner, Emily Samuelson, Bates is on track to become the first American figure skater in any discipline to compete in four Olympics.
 
"I think sometimes we don't really take a step back and reflect so much on the accomplishments," Chock said. "We've spent our time focusing on pushing ourselves to grow and improve that we haven't really had time to look at our resume."
 
When asked about the possibility of being the first to make four Olympic teams, Bates struggled to craft a response.
 
"I honestly don't really know what to say about that. I should have an answer prepared, but you really can't put it into words," he said. "I do take a lot of pride in the longevity of my career. I've been around so long and have seen so much, but I am still really driven and still love (ice dance) so much. I really do feel like I'm better than I have ever been, and I am still hungry and working hard to improve."
 
Chock and Bates competed in three international events this fall, collecting a trio of silver medals to along the way. After a successful outing at the Finlandia Trophy, the duo finished as runners up at 2021 Guaranteed Rate Skate America in Las Vegas, nearly overtaking reigning U.S. champions Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, falling short by a little less than two points. They closed out their Grand Prix campaign with another silver medal at NHK Trophy in Tokyo but nevertheless logged the top score by any Team USA ice dance team so far this season.
 
"Our performances on the Grand Prix circuit were overall very good," Chock said.
"At NHK Trophy we earned our career best rhythm dance score and achieved some high technical levels, which has been a goal of ours. Our free dance got good feedback from judges and audiences, but we feel the program is still growing and look forward to performing it again in front of an audience."
 
At close of the six-week series, Chock and Bates learned that they had qualified the Grand Prix Final, and were looking forward to heading to Osaka, Japan, to compete in the event for the sixth time. Unfortunately, as the duo putting the final touches on their preparations, they learned that due to new COVID-19 related travel restrictions, that the Japanese Federation was forced to postpone the event.
 
"We are certainly disappointed the event has been postponed. We've been training very hard over the last few weeks and were looking forward to competing again," Bates said. "We also understand why the decision was made and completely respect that it's in the best interest of everyone involved. Some things are bigger than figure skating and this pandemic has proved that health and safety are among them."
 
Once the announcement was made, Chock and Bates immediately sprang into action to refocus their attention on preparing for next month's U.S. Championships in Nashville.
 
"There are a few changes to our programs that we were waiting to make until after we got back from Japan, but now we can implement them immediately," Chock explained. "That will be our focus as we prepare for the upcoming U.S. Championships."
 
With the competition just a few weeks away, Chock and Bates are beginning to feel that twinge of excitement that comes with the anticipation of the U.S. Championships. To stay on focused on the mission at hand, they have started to put blinders on as they prepare for one of the most exciting but stressful weeks of their season.
 
"This is when dreams can become reality, and the memories that I have of making the previous teams are extra special," Bates said. "I think that we will just be really focused and locked in on what we need to do which is just to skate well and take advantage of the training that we've been putting in and to just continue building as we get closer to the Olympics."
 
Chock agreed adding, "It's always a wonderful and prestigious event, and it's one that's very close to our hearts. I think every skater that performs at the U.S. Championships would feel that way. We are really looking forward to it and we should see some great performances."
 
With a trip to Beijing well within their reach, Chock and Bates are hoping to redeem themselves after struggling to a ninth-place finish in PyeongChang, South Korea, four years ago. The two have dreamed of winning an Olympic medal for as long as they can remember and coming away with some hardware around their necks might just quench their thirst for redemption.
 
"We definitely want to come away from the Olympics feeling like we have skated well and that's just not how we felt last time, Bates said. "I think that's what has driven us to try to want another shot. We're in such a good place now compared to where we were four years ago—it's night and day. I think a lot of that is the work that we've put in over three years and accumulating so much improvement and growth and strength has really set us up well to be able to go back and hopefully have the performances that we've dreamed of in the Olympics."
 
Should they be named, Chock and Bates also plan to compete at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Montpellier, France, in March.
 
"We are definitely looking for that World title," Bates said. "We have been working towards it our entire career and so of course that that is the ultimate goal."
 
Chock added, "At this point in our lives and our careers we relish every competition and every opportunity to perform. The more we can get that chance, the better and the happier we are."
 
Though Chock, 29, and Bates, 32, realize that their competitive days will not last forever, they are not yet ready to have the curtain come down on their career, and do not expect to think about that until the season is over. In the meantime, however, they are beginning to see what might be waiting for them when they do decide to move on to the next phase of their lives.
 
"We would love to still be a part of the skating world whether that means shows, coaching, choreographing, or a little bit of all of those," Chock said. "We love the skating community and would love to give back in our own way, but also dabble in some other things outside of skating."
 
Bates interjected, "Skating will always be a big part of our heart and our soul and hopefully our lives. As we look forward, we'd like to get married and have a family which is kind of hard to do when you're competing."