 |
| Ice dancers Evan Bates and Madison Chock are in contention for an Olympic medal. |
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the reigning U.S. skating ice dance champions, finished within striking distance of an Olympic medal.
After the rhythm dance event, Hawaiian Chinese American Chock and her partner are in fourth place behind their American rivals, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Dononhue.
A skating error hurt Chock and Bates in their latest run, but they remain in the hunt for a medal with their overall performance, with their strongest routing, the long freestyle, coming Sunday evening.
During one dance sequence, Chock had a slight bobble when she nearly lost her edge, which cost the team a some points.
"In general, it was a bit of a fight," Chock said. "But there were also a lot of fun moments where we were just dancing to the music. So overall, we had to work for it today but we're very proud of what we put out."
While it is unlikely the pair will catch the French team of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron who set a new event record with a score of 90.83, a tremble here or a misstep there by the Russian team or their American teammates, could vault Chock and Bates into the top three for a silver or a bronze.
Giving hope to Chock and Bates was their outstanding performance in the team competition held earlier in the Olympics. Chock and Bates received a higher score than the world champion Russian team, which allowed the American team to win a silver medal, their highest placement since 2014 when the team event was introduced to the Olympics. In 2014 and 2018, the American team won bronze medals.
After Saturday's competition, the standings are:
1. Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron (FRA): 90.83
2. Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov (ROC): 88.85
3. Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue (USA): 87.13
4. Madison Chock / Evan Bates (USA): 84.14
5. Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Burkin (ROC): 84.0
The chemistry Chock and Bates share on the ice could be that they are a pair off the ice, as well. They didn’t start as high school sweethearts even though they were only 30 miles apart, but the two ended as partners on and off the ice a decade later.
The ice dancing pair went to high school 30 miles apart outside of Detroit. The decade-old partnership began at age 21 in 2011. However, it wasn’t until 2017 that the two started a relationship off the ice.
While Chock and Bates were not satisfied with their performance, in a television interview with Andrea Joyce, Chock added, "It's not over yet."
The free dance begins Sunday night at 8:15 p.m. on USA Network before moving to NBC. Fans can follow Team USA on the competition central page on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
After Saturday's competition, the standings are:
1. Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron (FRA): 90.83
2. Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov (ROC): 88.85
3. Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue (USA): 87.13
4. Madison Chock / Evan Bates (USA): 84.14
5. Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Burkin (ROC): 84.0
The chemistry Chock and Bates share on the ice could be that they are a pair off the ice, as well. They didn’t start as high school sweethearts even though they were only 30 miles apart, but the two ended as partners on and off the ice a decade later.
The ice dancing pair went to high school 30 miles apart outside of Detroit. The decade-old partnership began at age 21 in 2011. However, it wasn’t until 2017 that the two started a relationship off the ice.
While Chock and Bates were not satisfied with their performance, in a television interview with Andrea Joyce, Chock added, "It's not over yet."
The free dance begins Sunday night at 8:15 p.m. on USA Network before moving to NBC. Fans can follow Team USA on the competition central page on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
RELATED:
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.
No comments:
Post a Comment