In a judged discipline where momentum goes far, Madison Chock and Evan Bates have set themselves up to leave the 2022 Winter Olympics with what would be their first two Olympic medals.
Regardless of the outcome, though, Bates makes history just by being at these Games.
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The 32-year-old Michigan native becomes the first U.S. figure skater to compete at four Olympic Games.
He made his debut at Vancouver 2010, finishing 11th with then-partner Emily Samuelson, and with Chock was eighth in Sochi in 2014 and ninth at the PyeongChang 2018 Games.
Now in their 11th season together, Chock, 29, and Bates are primed to finally push their way into the top five and make a run for the podium.
SEE MORE: U.S. Championships: Ice dance winners Chock/Bates on goals
In their eight appearances at the world championships, they have never finished lower than seventh. The two-time world medalists last earned one six years ago but were a strong fourth last year (1.66 points from third).
After winning the U.S. title in 2015 and 2020, they re-claimed the gold last month and enter the Games as the favored U.S. team in a long-standing rivalry, if one can call it that, with Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.
That reigning national champion status should also place Chock and Bates as the U.S. entry in the free dance portion of the Olympic team event, where they will skate to a Daft Punk medley in a program choreographed to represent the relationship between an astronaut and alien. Their blues/hip-hop rhythm dance is set to a Billie Eillish medley that includes her popular hit “Bad Guy.”
SEE MORE: Meet the Athletes: Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Chock and Bates’ stiffest competition comes from training mates Hubbell and Donohue and four-time world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France, plus 2021 world champions Viktoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of the Russian Olympic Committee and Canada’s reigning world bronze medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
Sign up to stream every event at the 2022 Winter Olympics LIVE on Peacock. Users can also authenticate via TV Everywhere to stream events in the NBC Sports app or on NBCOlympics.com. See below for full broadcast and streaming details for all of Chock and Bates’ possible events. A full figure skating streaming schedule is also available on NBCOlympics.com.
| Date/Time (ET) | Event | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Feb. 6 | 8:15 p.m. | Team Event - Free Dance | NBC | Peacock , NBCOlympics.com |
| Mon | Feb. 12 | 6 a.m. | Ice Dance - Rhythm Dance | NBC, USA | Peacock , NBCOlympics.com |
| Wed | Feb 9 | 8:15 p.m. | 🏅 Ice Dance - Free Dance | NBC, USA | Peacock , NBCOlympics.com |
* TV networks reflect live events, times may differ for replays; check full schedule for detailed information. Chock/Bates may also compete in the exhibition gala.