Madison Chock says ice dance judges should be “examined and reviewed” after France’s controversial win at the Winter Olympics.

Ice dance competition for 2026 Winter Olympics it may be over, but many fans can’t stop talking about Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ performance – either Controversial victory for France after the judges’ scores left the Americans 1.43 points away from the gold.

Asked by CBS News if there should be any changes to the way ice dance is judged moving forward, Chock said “it would definitely help if it was more understandable for the audience, just to see the judging in the open and understand … what’s really going on.”

“I think it is also important for the skaters, that the judges are tested and reviewed to make sure that they are also doing very well,” he continued, “because there is a lot on the list of skaters when they are out there they give everything, and the judges should also give us everything to make it a fair playing field.

The Americans were favorites going into Wednesday’s free dance, despite trailing France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron by 0.46 points after the rhythm dance portion of the competition on Monday. Send them their score is the best in the world in Monday’s program, they got 89.72 points, but they were topped by the French duo who got 90.18.

Chock and Bates performed their free dance to “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi show “Westworld” and scored 134.67 points. Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron then skated to “The Whale” and scored 135.64 points, edging out the American couple by less than a point.

However, during their free dance routine, Cizeron made a mistake during something called a twizzle – a one-foot spin – and their performance was generally seen as less clean than Chock and Bates’.

In the end, Beaudry and Cizeron’s total of 225.82 was edged out by Chock and Bates’ 224.39. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took the bronze, with 217.74.

In ice dancing, everything has a base value, or the number of points it’s usually worth; There is also an output level, where teams receive positive points for doing well and negative points for doing poorly. The French were underrated for a mistake during their spell, and there were other moments during their performance that could have been seen as dirty.

But their scores exceed Chock and Bates’ scores for artistic presentation and musical interpretation, too. Another modest scoring factor: The French judge scored the Americans more than seven points below the French duo, which is the biggest ice dance margin. Five of the nine judges favored the Americans in scoring their goals; The other three beat the French team to the top.

“It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling right now,” Chock said after Wednesday’s contest. “We’ve had the most unbelievable year – 15 years together on the ice; first Olympics as a married couple. And we did our best four games this week. I think we’re proud of the way we handled ourselves here and what we accomplished.”

Bates said Thursday was “their best performance yet.” He said he and Chock had not read the scores, adding that their performance “felt like a winning skate for us and that’s what we’re going to hold on to,” reported the Associated Press.

They are still discussing their plans for the future. The 2026 World Figure Skating Championships are next month in Prague, and the Americans are the reigning world champions.

Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron have been a couple for less than a year. Cizeron previously won gold in the ice dance event at the 2022 Winter Olympics with then-partner Gabriella Papadakis, who retired in 2024. He accused Cizeron of bad behavior, saying he was “controlling” and “demanding,” CBS News partner BBC News reported. He responded that Papadakis had spread false information about him in a “smear campaign.”

Fournier Beaudry was born in Montreal and spent most of his career representing Canada, but was granted French citizenship in November. He asked Cizeron to cooperate after his former partner, Nikolaj Sørensen, was suspended by Skate Canada after an American figure skater accused him of sexual harassment. The suspension was overturned in June for reasons, but the case is still ongoing, The AP reported. Fournier Beaudry has also maintained his innocence, showing support for his former partner as recently as earlier this month.