A judge in the figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy has been accused of intentionally sabotaging the U.S. team's score.
United States figure skating pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates skated what looked like a gold medal-winning run. However, they ended up with the silver medal. A French judge gave the pair a controversial low score.
Chock and Bates, who are married, scored a 134.67 in the free dance portion, giving them a total score of 224.39. The couple passed Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier at 217.74. However, France's team, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, posted a score of 135.64 for a total of 225.82 to win the gold medal.
"We really gave it our best," Chock said. "And that's what we set out to do coming to these Games. So I think we've got a lot to be proud of and a lot to be grateful for because we've had an incredible career and we've been so well supported by our families and our coaches by each other. And sometimes that's just how it shakes out."
© Amber Searls-Imagn Images
The French judge is facing accusations on social media.
"French judge scored the American's Chock & Bates almost 8 points behind their home team. We've literally made zero progress since the scoring system was completely revamped following the 2002 pairs skating debacle," one fan pointed out.
"I mean, I’m not an ice dancing expert but this is highway robbery. French judge scored French team 7.71 points higher than US. Scored US lowest of any judge (only score under 130). All other judges had the teams separated by an average of 2.19 points," another fan wrote.
U.S. figure skaters react to controversy
Chock remains proud of what they did, despite the silver medal.
"We are really proud … and grateful to our coaches and our families. They came all this way and have supported us through it all,” she said. “It means so much to us to be a part of this sport, and to have contributed years of work and creativity to hopefully inspire the next generation of skaters.”
The 2026 Winter Olympics will continue on NBC.