There’s been plenty of controversy since Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates finished with a silver medal in the ice dancing Winter Olympic competition last week behind France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
Many fans wondered if U.S. Figure Skating would elect to appeal the results; but in the end, the governing body chose to not appeal, according to USA Today Sports’ Christine Brennan. They still have the option of sending a letter to the International Skating Union, though.
“There has been a lot of thoughtful, and at times emotional, discussion about the ice dance competition in Milan,” USFS CEO Matt Farrell said in a statement to Brennan. “Working together with Madi and Evan after the Games, we will have thoughtful and intentional discussions about the best way to support them and the future of the sport. For now, we plan to join them in supporting the success of U.S. Figure Skating in Milan.”
The biggest controversy after the ice dancing event was finding out that a French judge scored Beaudry and Cizeron much higher than the American duo in both the rhythm and free dance routines. On Wednesday, the French judge scored the former 7.71 points higher than the latter, while the other judges didn’t give either team more than a 4.1-point advantage in any category. This scoring situation may begin a conversation surrounding biases in figure skating scoring moving forward.
In fact, Chock and Bates themselves called for a new vetting process when it comes to finding Olympic judges moving forward. The ISU responded by defending the judging process and emphasizing how there will always be a range of scores.
The married couple still impressed viewers everywhere with their ice dancing performance last week despite the outcome. They’ve won three Olympic medals in their 15-year partnership—two golds in team events and the one silver in ice dancing.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Madison Chock and Evan Bates’s Olympic Silver Medal Finish Will Not Be Appealed.
