Feb 15, 2026, 01:18 PM ET
U.S. Figure Skating did not appeal the French judge’s scoring that played a major role in Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates losing the ice dance gold medal to France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
«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 USA Today Sports on Sunday. «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.»
In Wednesday’s free dance, one judge, Jezabel Dabouis, favored Beaudry and Cizeron by nearly eight points over Chock and Bates in the free dance. The margin was so large that if her score were removed from the equation, Chock and Bates would have won gold.
The U.S. had 24 hours to file an appeal, though any success seemed unlikely as the International Skating Union said it stood by the judging.
«It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,» the ISU said Friday, adding it has «full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.»
Dabouis also had a wide margin favoring the French couple in the Olympic rhythm dance, when they also beat the U.S. team.
«Any time the public is confused by results, it does a disservice to our sport,» Chock said Thursday. «I think it’s hard to retain fans when it’s difficult to understand what is happening on the ice.
«People need to understand what they’re cheering for and be able to feel confident in the sport that they’re supporting.»
Said Bates: «We know how we felt on center ice after we skated. We felt like we delivered our absolute best performance that we could have. It was our Olympic moment. It felt like a winning skate to us, and that’s what we’re going to hold on to.»
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
