Madison La'akea Te-Lan Hall Chock was born in Redondo Beach, California.[1] She went to Novi High School. She is of Hawaiian, Chinese, German, English, Irish, French, and Dutch descent.[2] La'akea means "sacred light from heaven" and Te-Lan (特蘭) means "unique orchid."[2]
After partnering on ice for several years, Chock and Bates began a romantic relationship in 2017.[3][4] On June 11, 2022 they became engaged.[5] They were married on June 20, 2024, in Hawaii. [6]
Early career
Madison Chock began skating at age five, becoming interested after watching it on TV with her parents. Ice dance was suggested to her at the age of 12, and she found that she enjoyed it, although she initially had no interest in dance. She also tried pair skating and took tests through the intermediate level.[2]
Chock skated for one season with Kurt Lingenfelter on the intermediate level. They won the pewter medal at the 2006 U.S. Junior Championships.[7]
On June 7, 2011, Chock and Zuerlein announced the end of their five-year partnership; Zuerlein retired from competition, while Chock said she intended to continue competing.[10] In her subsequent search for a new partner, she was contacted by skaters including Todd Gilles and Paul Poirier.[11]
On July 1, 2011, Chock and Evan Bates announced their partnership and that they would continue to be coached by Shpilband and Zueva.[8][12] They finished fourth at the 2011 Skate Canada International, fifth at the 2011 Trophée Éric Bompard, and 5th at the 2012 U.S. Championships. After Zueva and Shpilband ended their coaching partnership, Chock/Bates were the first team to announce that they would continue training with Shpilband.[13]
In February, Chock/Bates won silver at the 2015 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, where they finished second to Canada's Weaver/Poje by a margin of 1.28 points. In March, they capped off their season with silver at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China. Ranked first in the short dance and second in the free, they finished with a total score 2.94 points less than the champions, Papadakis/Cizeron of France, and 1.92 more than the bronze medalists, Weaver/Poje.
2015–16 season: World bronze, second consecutive Four Continents and Grand Prix Final medal
In March, Chock/Bates won the bronze medal at the 2016 World Championships in Boston, having finished third behind Papadakis/Cizeron and Shibutani/Shibutani in both segments.
Chock competed with an injury after bone fragments chipped off her right ankle in August 2017, just before Champs Camp.[20][21] She and Bates won silver medals at the 2017 Cup of China and 2017 Internationaux de France, which meant that they qualified to their fourth consecutive Grand Prix Final. They placed fifth in the short dance, third in the free, and fifth overall at the December event in Nagoya, Japan.
At the 2018 U.S. Championships, Chock/Bates placed third in the short dance, first in the free dance, and third overall, scoring 0.52 less than the champions, Hubbell/Donohue, and 0.33 less than the Shibutanis.
They were not selected for the team competition but competed in the individual ice dancing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics, which took place in February in Gangneung, South Korea. Chock reinjured her ankle in the final moments of the warm-up before the short dance.[21] She stated that it was an "osteochondral lesion" with a loose bone fragment in her joint.[22] The duo placed seventh in the short dance. Skating their "Imagine" program in the free dance, the blades of their skates caught on the entrance of their combination spin, resulting in both falling and invalidating the entire element.They placed twelfth in the free dance and ninth overall. Speaking afterward, Chock said that her previous injury was not responsible for the fall and that at that moment, "I knew it was over. I knew there was no shot. After working so hard all this season and going through so much and trying to stay healthy and then just losing it at a crucial moment, it was really, really heartbreaking."[23][24]
Chock and Bates were initially assigned to two Grand Prix events, the newly created Helsinki Grand Prix and the Rostelecom Cup. Chock's recovery from her ankle surgery necessitated their withdrawal, and they did not compete in the first half of the season.[26]
In January, they returned to competition at the Toruń Cup in Poland, winning decisively. They then competed at the 2019 U.S. Championships in Detroit, where they placed second in both programs, winning the silver medal behind Hubbell/Donohue. Both praised their new coaches and training environment afterward, with Bates saying they were "really happy with the performance here in Detroit. This self-belief is a belief in each other, our training mates, and coaches, and that is a strength that will carry us back to where we want to go." They were assigned to compete at the Four Continents and World Championships.[27]
At the Four Continents Championships, held in Anaheim, Chock/Bates placed second in the rhythm dance, again behind Hubbell/Donohue. They placed first in the free dance and first overall, following a series of errors by Hubbell/Donohue, principally their planned stationary lift being reduced to base value after traveling too much. This was the team's first gold medal at an ISU Championship, prompting Bates to observe, "we got a lot of medals, none of them are gold. I am surprised. If you had told us that we would win Four Continents when we pulled out of the Grand Prix four months ago, I think we would be very surprised. But we're very happy now." Chock stated that she considered the placement secondary to "newfound joy and happiness" in their skating.[28]
On the Grand Prix, Chock/Bates began at the 2019 Internationaux de France, where they placed second in the rhythm dance despite hitting only one of the four key points in the Finnstep pattern dance.[31] Second in the free dance, they also won the silver medal.[32] The following week at the 2019 Cup of China, they again placed second in the rhythm dance and obtained only one of the four Finnstep key points.[33] Chock/Bates won the free dance decisively, but remained in second place overall.[34] At the Grand Prix Final, Chock/Bates scored a season's best in the rhythm dance, placing third while obtaining three of the four Finnstep key points.[35] They also scored a personal best in the free dance, finishing second in the free dance and second overall, returning to the Grand Prix Final podium for the first time since 2015. Speaking afterward, Chock attributed much of their success to their Egyptian Snake Dance free program, saying, "there’s no other program like this in ice dance."[36]
At the 2020 US Championships in Greensboro, Chock/Bates finished first in the rhythm dance, 1.02 points ahead of Hubbell/Donohue despite a slip in their Finnstep pattern.[37] After the free dance, they were first overall, winning their second US title five years after their first one, which is the longest gap between ice dance titles in US history.[38] They also won with the largest margin of victory in US ice dance since the Davis/White era, 4.67 points.[39]
At the 2020 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, Chock/Bates finished second in the rhythm dance with a personal best score of 85.76, just 0.2 points behind Hubbell/Donohue.[40] In the free dance, Chock/Bates finished first despite falling on a transition. They successfully defended their Four Continents title, becoming the first ice dance couple to do so since Belbin/Agosto from 2004 to 2006.[41] Chock/Bates were assigned to compete at the World Championships in Montreal, but these were canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[42]
2020–21 season
Chock and Bates remained in Montreal during the pandemic and were off-ice for three months before the rink reopened for training.[43] The duo lost a month of training to an injury to Chock. She suffered a concussion after fainting after a walk on a hot day in July.[44] They spent another two weeks in quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure, though neither tested positive. As a result, they abandoned plans to use a new free dance for the season and withdrew from the 2020 Skate America.[43]
At the 2021 U.S. Championships, Chock/Bates finished first in the rhythm dance, 0.44 points ahead of Hubbell/Donohue despite Chock losing a twizzle level.[45] In the free dance, Bates stepped out of his twizzles, resulting in them finishing second in the free dance and overall.[46] They were named to the US team for the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm.[47]
The Stockholm World Championships were held without an audience due to the pandemic, with Chock/Bates' training partners and four-time World Champions Papadakis/Cizeron declining to attend due to their own COVID illness and lost training time. This led to a hotly contested podium, generally seen as being between six teams, them included.[48] Chock/Bates placed third in the rhythm dance, narrowly behind Hubbell/Donohue in second and over two points ahead of Canada's Gilles/Poirier in fourth.[49] Bates lost a twizzle level in the free dance. They placed fourth in that segment, dropping to fourth place overall behind Gilles/Poirier in third.[50] Their fourth place combined with Hubbell/Donohue's second qualified three berths for American dance teams at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[51]
2021–22 season: Olympic team gold, World bronze, and third national title
The team selected a medley of Billie Eilish songs to perform for their rhythm dance while, following the success of their Egyptian Snake Dance program, aimed to replicate that success with a new "Contact" program built around the concept of an astronaut romancing an alien.[52] Making their season debut at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, Chock/Bates won the silver medal behind training mates Papadakis/Cizeron.[53]
On the Grand Prix, Chock/Bates competed first at the 2021 Skate America, also attended by primary domestic rivals Hubbell/Donohue. Placing second in both programs, they won the silver medal after finishing 1.31 points behind Hubbell/Donohue.[52][54] At their second event, the 2021 NHK Trophy, Chock/Bates placed narrowly second in the rhythm dance, only 0.31 points behind reigning World champions Sinitsina/Katsalapov. Bates fell right at the beginning of the free dance, though not on an element, and they remained in second place. Assessing the error, Bates said afterward, "we responded well and put together a good performance considering the early mishap."[55] Their results qualified them to the Grand Prix Final, but it was subsequently canceled due to restrictions prompted by the Omicron variant.[56]
At the 2022 U.S. Championships, Chock/Bates placed first in the rhythm dance, leading by 2.55 points over Hubbell/Donohue. They placed second in the free dance but won overall by 1.78 points due to their lead in the rhythm dance. They were named to the American Olympic team, the third such for Chock and fourth for Bates. Bates became the first U.S. skater of any discipline to compete in four Winter Olympics.[57]
Chock/Bates began the 2022 Winter Olympics as the team captains and American entries in the free dance segment of the Olympic team event. At the time they took the ice, a fifth-place finish in the pairs free segment by Knierim/Frazier had raised the possibility of the second-place American team dropping to third behind Team Japan. However, Chock/Bates would unexpectedly win the segment over Russian entries Sinitsina/Katsalapov, securing America's position over Japan. The American team ultimately won the silver medal, the first Olympic medal for both Chock and Bates. However following a positive doping test of Russia's gold medalist Kamila Valieva, the team members were not awarded their medals, pending an investigation.[58] In January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified her, and the gold medal is projected to be awarded to the U.S. team.[59][60] In the dance event days later, Chock stumbled midway through the performance, and they finished fourth in the segment. Bates admitted to having "mixed feelings" about the performance," but said, "it's not over yet."[61] Fourth in the free dance as well, they finished fourth overall. Bates said after: "I think the fourth place sometimes can be one of the hardest places to finish. But the fact that there are only three spots on the podium is what makes this sport so furious and so loved by so many people and the fans at home and the athletes too. We want the competition to be strong and deep, and that’s exactly what it is."[62]
Chock and Bates concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, held in Montpellier. Chock/Bates were third in the rhythm dance with a personal best 87.51 score.[63] Third as well in the free dance, they took the bronze medal returning to the World podium for the first time in six years. With Papadakis/Cizeron taking the gold medal and Hubbell/Donohue the silver, the entire podium consisted of skaters from the Ice Academy of Montreal. Chock said, "it was a dream to be able to share that podium with our training mates and to be back on the podium after what feels like a very, very long time."[64]
2022–23 season: World champion and third Four Continents title
With another Olympic cycle, the two faced questions about retirement, to which Bates responded, "these are the most enjoyable years of our career. We're not ready to step away from competitive ice just yet." With Hubbell/Donohue retired and Papadakis/Cizeron sitting out at least the season, the two entered the 2022–23 season perceived as favorites for the World title; Chock called this "a big goal of ours, and it always has been." The two toured for three months following the Montpellier World Championships, performing in forty skating shows, and as a result, were not prepared in time to participate in a Challenger event.[65]
For their free dance for the new season, they opted for a medley of songs by Quebec musician Jorane and a program theme inspired by Chock's vintage 1920 engagement ring, namely, "how love is connected and flows through time and transcends the physical world."[65] In their competitive debut on the Grand Prix at the 2022 Skate America, they won the gold medal, albeit losing the free dance to domestic rivals Hawayek/Baker after their choreographic slide element was invalidated. This was their first Grand Prix gold since 2015.[66] Following Skate America, significant alterations were made to their free dance, incorporating the music "Souffrance" by Orange Blossom while also "evolving" the concept to be "about the relationship of the spirit of fire and spirit of air and how one cannot survive without each other."[67] They were generally considered the favorites to win the 2022 NHK Trophy, their second event, but they unexpectedly finished second behind Canadian training partners Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen, taking the silver medal.[68][69] Chock acknowledged the expectations, saying, "we discussed what the season will look like for ourselves, and I think each season always offers new adversity and new obstacles. And this season is no different. Our goal remains the same: we want to win Worlds this year."[66]
Chock and Bates with South Korean ice dancers Hannah Lim and Ye Quan, 2022
Entering the Grand Prix Final in Turin perceived to be on the back foot against top-seeded Canadians Gilles/Poirier and Italian champions Guignard/Fabbri. However, they performed well in the rhythm dance, finishing in second place and only 0.44 points behind Gilles/Poirier. Chock remarked, "based on how the season has been so far, we are just really proud of how much work we accomplished in such a short amount of time."[70][71] They were second in the free dance as well, finishing 3.70 points behind Gilles/Poirier and winning their fourth Grand Prix Final silver, which Chock called "everything we hoped it would be for where we have been and the amount of work we’ve put in since Skate America and NHK."[72][73]
Heavy favourites going into the 2023 U.S. Championships, Chock/Bates successfully defended their title, winning a second consecutive and fourth overall national gold medal together.[74][75]
With rivals Gilles/Poirier absent from the 2023 Four Continents Championships due to Gilles' requiring an appendectomy, Chock/Bates entered the event as heavy favourites for their third title.[76] They won the rhythm dance with a personal best 87.67, albeit with second-place Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen unexpectedly close behind with 86.28.[77][78] They won the free dance by a wider margin of over five points, taking the gold medal again and setting new personal bests in the segment and overall. Bates reflected on their victories at Four Continents, saying "the first time we were very surprised we won. The second time we won, we didn't skate our best. And today, I think, was the right mix of feeling really prepared, skating really well, and still being surprised."[79][80]
Going into the 2023 World Championships, Chock/Bates were perceived to have reestablished themselves as the title frontrunners, with Guignard/Fabbri and a returning Gilles/Poirier their main challengers.[11] In the rhythm dance, they set a new personal best score of 91.94 to finish in first place in the segment, more than three points clear of the Italians in second.[81] Despite Chock falling at the end of their free dance, they won that segment as well, setting a new personal best in that segment and overall in the process. Chock and Bates won their first World title, becoming only the second American team to do so, after Davis and White.[82] With Guignard/Fabbri and Gilles/Poirier joining them on the podium, all the ice dance medalists were aged 30 or over for the first time in the history of the event.[83]
Chock/Bates finished the season at the World Team Trophy, winning the rhythm dance with a new world record score.[84] They set world records in the free dance and total score as well. Chock said she was pleased to have performed so well after the difficulties in the free dance at the World Championships.[85] Team USA won the gold medal.[86]
2023–24 season: Second World title and Grand Prix Final gold
Skipping the Challenger circuit for a second consecutive season, Chock and Bates' first competition was a defense of their title at the 2023 Skate America. They finished first in the rhythm dance by seven points in front of Canadian training mates Lajoie/Lagha, despite having had a dangerous fall in practice the morning of the segment.[87] They won the free dance as well, taking their fourth event title by a wide margin. They cite the fiftieth anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon as the inspiration for their Pink Floyd medley free program.[88] Despite twizzle errors in the free dance at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, they won that event as well.[89]
Chock/Bates qualified to the 2023–24 Grand Prix Final, their seventh appearance at the event, a record for American competitors in any discipline. They scored 89.15 in the rhythm dance, the highest score for any team to that point in the season.[90] Winning the free dance as well, they took their first gold medal, and first Final medal of any color other than silver.[91]
In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Chock/Bates were preemptively named to the American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships, which were to be held the following week in Shanghai.[92] Chock began to experience flu-like symptoms in the days before the national championships. They won the rhythm dance by an 8.98-point margin over Carreira/Ponomarenko, but Chock's symptoms continued to worsen, and the decision to compete in the free dance was only firmly made shortly before their final warmup. They lost that segment to Carreira/Ponomarenko, finishing second there, but remained in first place overall.[93] Chock/Bates subsequently withdrew from the Four Continents team, and were replaced by Zingas/Kolesnik.[94]
The 2024 World Championships were held in Montreal, home of the team's training base. They won the rhythm dance with a score of 90.08 points, with Chock calling it their best of the season. In the free dance, they lost a level on their opening stationary lift, and ultimately finished second in that segment behind Canada's Gilles/Poirier, but remained first overall and claimed the gold medal. With this result they equaled Davis/White's record for most World titles for an American dance team, and became the first American team to win two World titles consecutively. They said they were pleased to have achieved this in their "adopted hometown."[95]
Chock/Bates started the season by taking silver at 2024 Skate America behind training-mates, Fear/Gibson.[98] They subsequently took gold at the 2024 NHK Trophy.[99] These Grand Prix series results allowed Chock/Bates to qualify for the Grand Prix Final for a third consecutive time.[100]
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