Ice dance opened the next phase of the Olympic figure skating team event with Madison Chock and Evan Bates keeping Team USA out front in the top spot. Skating their “Paint it, Black” free dance, inspired by flamenco and paso doble flavors, the husband-and-wife duo laid it all out on the ice, with incredible precision, power and control.

The duo scored a season’s best 133.23 points overall. For the three-time reigning world champions, it was an authoritative statement ahead of the individual event in which they have a narrow edge for ice dance gold — the one major title missing from their résumé. The seven-time U.S. national champions have hinted this could be their final season, and they skated like a team determined to control the narrative, especially with new French challengers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron looming in the individual event later in the Games.

Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri kept the host nation’s medal push rolling in 2nd with 124.22 to earn nine team points. The veteran duo — both skating their fourth Olympics — have talked openly about the emotional lift of competing in Milan, just minutes from home. After a stutter in their medal momentum starting with a 4th-place finish at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships last March, they’re enjoying a late-season surge again with a European Championship silver medal last month. They followed that up with a strong rhythm dance showing Friday and with a soulful, emotional performance to their free dance skated to music from Italian film, “Diamanti,” Italy’s team-medal hopes remain on track.

Finishing the event in 3rd, was up-and-coming Canadian team Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, who skated in a surprise substitution for Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier with 120.90, earning eight points. Their mature and technically complex performance showed a rising depth for Team Canada as the duo took their first steps on Olympic ice.

Ilia Malinin performs a butterfly jump

Georgia’s Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin finished 4th with 117.82 for seven team points. Davis and Smolkin have been clear that the team event is central to Georgia’s Olympic ambitions. Their rhythm dance kept them close enough to apply pressure.

Japan’s Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita rounded out the field in 5th at 98.55, taking six team points. The reigning Japanese champions are slated to skate only in the team event in Milan, as they did not qualify for the individual event, and their appearance highlighted Japan’s broader challenge in this format. Still, Yoshida and Morita delivered what Japan needed: a clean contribution that keeps them in striking distance as the event continues.

Chock and Bates skate their rhythm dance

Figure Skating

Veteran ice dancers Madison Chock, Evan Bates serve as support for first-time Olympians

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Olympic team event free dance results

    Madison Chock / Evan Bates (United States) – 133.23 – 10 team points
    Charlene Guignard / Marco Fabbri (Italy) – 124.22 – 9
    Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha (Canada) – 120.90 – 8
    Diana Davis / Gleb Smolkin (Georgia) – 117.82 – 7
    Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita (Japan) – 98.55 – 6