Madison Chock and Evan Bates deliver at Grand Prix Final
2025-26 Grand Prix Final: Ice Dance
USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates delivered two exceptional performances to win their third consecutive Grand Prix Final title on Saturday in Nagoya, Japan. France’s new team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron claimed the silver, while Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson repeated for bronze at this event.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Three-time World champions earned a new season’s best in their difficult rhythm dance to selections by Lenny Kravitz, placing first with a season’s best of 88.74 points. They showed very strong level-four twizzles which received mostly +4 grades of execution (GOE) across the board. The rotational lift was also graded a level four, while the midline steps garnered a level three and two, and the pattern steps a level three.
“We’re really happy with the rhythm dance today, it was our best skate of the season,” said Bates. “We are going to enjoy just a practice day tomorrow and then look forward to the free dance on Saturday.”
The two-time and current Grand Prix Final champions presented a dynamic and technically difficult free dance to “Paint It Black,” placing first this segment with a season’s best of 131.68. They picked up a level four on the lifts and dance spin, earning very high GOEs throughout. The one-foot steps were graded a level three and two, while the diagonal received a level three. However, the twizzles were only graded a level two and four. Still, with a total score of 220.42—another season’s best—they took their third Grand Prix Final gold.
“We feel really happy!” said Chock. “It was so fun performing for the audience today. The energy in the rink was palpable, and the venue itself was very inspiring. We’re very proud of how we skated today. I think we’ve done a lot of great work for this program and we’re really happy with how it’s progressing. This is just a great step forward into the second half of the season, and we’re honored to just be here and be a part of it. And we really look forward to how we can keep progressing through the second half of the season.”
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron displayed excellent level-four twizzles in their playful rhythm dance to Madonna’s “Vogue.” The midline steps were graded a level three for both ice dancers, while the pattern steps only earned a level two. The curve lift was also graded a level four, and the team picked up many high GOEs throughout, earning a personal best score of 87.56 for second place.
“We were really amazingly surprised yesterday with the venue, such a beautiful arena,” said Cizeron. “So, it was an immense pleasure to perform here and for the crowd, and what we’ve done today we have a really good feeling. I think we’ve improved a lot actually even in one week. I think we really focused on the technique, the performance aspects, and finding our center in this rhythm dance.”
“We just wanted to enjoy and not get so much in our heads and that’s what we did today,” added Fournier Beaudry.
“We’re very happy about the performance that we delivered today,” added Fournier Beaudry. “It felt really good. Just obtaining those scores that are supported by the performance feels like an achievement. We’re
extremely happy about the progression that we’ve had from every competition.”
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron delivered a spellbinding free dance to from The Whale, but Fournier Beaudry tripped on her skirt going into the choreographic lift, resulting in a deduction. The two-time Grand Prix champions also received another deduction for an extended lift (curve-curve). Still, all three lifts, the dance spin and twizzles were graded a level four. The one-foot steps were graded a level three and four, while the serpentine footwork was a level two and three. All elements received positive GOEs, they placed second in this segment and overall (126.69/214.25).
Both ice dancers were happy with their performances at this event.
“I think we’re really proud to have made it so far,” said Cizeron. “I think we’ve overcome so many challenges and I’m really proud of us for the performances that we’ve put here. And this week was really particularly enjoyable in this amazing venue, and with the crowd and the energy was really fun.”
“It’s really a blessing to be here performing with some teams,” added Fournier Beaudry. “I think that we’re just going to continue to enjoy building up performances together and bring it to the second part of the season.”
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson
Fear and Gibson delivered an energetic rhythm dance to a Spice Girls medley to place a close fourth with 82.55 points. Their routine included level-four twizzles and rotational lift, but the pattern steps only garnered a level one. The 2025 World bronze medalists earned positive grades of execution (GOEs) for all elements and scored 82.55 points for fourth place.
“The audience is very enthusiastic!” said Fear. “It’s always just such a pleasure to perform for a crowd like this. It’s just so lovely to skate in a place like this and we wanted to just fill that with our energy and be grateful. We always take competitions as feedback and our favorite thing is to see how we can improve and to make a goal and execute that. And we worked in the quality, we made some little tweaks at the end of our free dance, which we’re excited to perform on Saturday.”
The two-time European silver medalists gave a folksy and heritage-steeped Scottish-themed free dance to “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” and “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” Gibson lost a level on the twizzles, but the lifts and spin were graded a level four. The midline steps were graded a level three and two, while the one-foot steps were a level two. They earned many high GOEs throughout, particularly on the opening combination lift, and finished third in the free skate with a new season’s best of 126.26. With a total score of 208.81, they edged out the Canadians by a mere 0.06 point for third place overall.
“It was electric out there today and it’s just such a delight to skate!” said Fear. “Firstly, in Japan, but also in a facility like this. So, we wanted to soak it in, still do our job, but we really just feel grateful to be here and do ourselves proud. And it was so much fun performing for everyone and we are very proud of both performances we did and excited to move ahead with confidence and a clear vision.”
“I think we’re both very proud of how we’ve competed so far,” agreed Gibson. “It feels like a great achievement and I’m just really looking forward to getting back to work and our next competitions.”
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier
Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier delivered a fun and upbeat rhythm dance to “Supermodel” and “I’m too Sexy” which featured an excellent level-four rotational lift and positive grades of execution (GOE) throughout. The twizzles were also graded a level four, while the midline steps were a three and two. The pattern steps received a level three, and the four-time World medalists placed third with 82.89 points.
“We wanted to skate today with a lot of confidence, a lot of joy in our performance, and really attacked this program,” said Poirier. “I think we were able to do that. We felt really settled. We really believed in ourselves and that really carried us through the program today. The arena is beautiful. It has such a good feeling. When we came out to the ice yesterday for the first practice, we just felt immediately at ease and comfortable and it feels like home.”
The four-time World medalists earned a new season’s best (125.86) for their moving and captivating free dance to “Vincent,” placing fourth in this segment. The twizzles, dance spin and three lifts were all graded a level four, with the final combination lift receiving very high GOEs. The diagonal steps were graded a level three, while the one-foot steps were a three and two. With a total score of 208.75—also a season’s best—they finished fourth overall.
“I think we’re really happy with our performances this week,” said Poirier. “We both feel the programs have grown a lot through the Grand Prix series. We feel stronger, we feel faster, we feel more commanding and we feel like we have a better understanding of the emotion of the programs. In Finland, we had very low levels. In this event, the levels, we were really satisfied with those. We have to see that as an opportunity to make ourselves better before the Olympics. It’s not exactly the kinds of scores that we wanted to get. We have to stay focused on the improvement that we see in ourselves and stay united and connected through the challenges of this Olympic season.”
“I think I felt like there was a lot that we could do with this program still,” added Gilles of the free dance. “I think emotionally we were still so attached to it. And I think reimagining it in a way that we could do it better was inspiring to us. We feel like there’s a lot more for this program to grow.”
Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius
Lithuanians Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius were confident in their fun rhythm dance to “I’m Too Sexy” and “Cantaloop,” placing fifth with 79.48 points. They lost a level on the rotational lift, which was graded a level three, but the twizzles were a level four, while the midline and pattern steps were a level two.
“The performance went really well today, so we’re very happy,” said Reed. “It was a lot of management, but our training paid off and the experience in the past few competitions that’s bringing to this competition field. So, it’s just what it is, good performance, good audience. I feel like this season has kind of been a dream season for us, but definitely one that we worked for. Happy with the work that we put in to get here.”
The 2024 European bronze medalists placed fifth in the free dance (120.13) with their driving hypnotic routine to “God is a DJ” and ” We Come 1″ by Faithless. The twizzles, lifts and dance spin were all graded a level four, and they earned positive GOEs throughout their free dance. With a total score 199.61, they maintained fifth place overall.
“We gave everything and we feel tired, but we feel happy,” said Ambrulevicius. “It was super fun, and the crowd gave us the extra boost that we needed towards the end of the program, because it was physically hard at this competition. We’re super grateful that we get this chance to explore different cultures in different countries. And Japan is super nice.”
“There are five weeks until the Europeans,” Reed pointed out. “It’s a good time for us to regroup and analyze both of our programs and see how we can improve them going into the three big competitions of the season.”
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik
USA’s Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik placed sixth (75.78) in the rhythm dance with their routine to “Poison.” The team received an “S” on the midline steps which later confused the skaters. They also received a two-point deduction for an illegal element, but the level-four twizzles were strong, earning positive GOES. The rotational lift also received a level four, while the pattern steps were graded a one.
“I thought we skated great until I saw the marks,” said Kolesnik. “I don’t understand where the two-point deduction came from. It says illegal element, and I have no idea what’s it for.”
“We feel pretty good,” said Zingas. “The crowd was really amazing, and we always look forward to coming to Japan. It’s our second time and we’ve had an amazing time here so far. I love it so much. We are a little confused with how things went with scoring, but it’s just something that we have to look at with our team. We haven’t made any changes over the last competition. So just a little confused, but we’re really excited just to be here.”
The 2025 Finlandia Trophy bronze medalists delivered a precise and smooth free dance to Romeo and Juliet which featured level-four lifts and twizzles, but they lost levels on the dance spin which was graded a level two. The one-foot steps were also graded a level two, while the diagonal steps received a level two and three. They earned positive GOES throughout, and placed sixth in the free dance and overall (117.83/193.61).
“I think the crowd was amazing today,” said Zingas. “We feel really grateful we have this opportunity. Today we did make a mistake and it’s kind of an uncharacteristic mistake for us. So, we will drill it when we get home and work to make everything the best we can and improve before the national championships. We try not to think about anyone else just because our success this season has especially come from focusing on ourselves and focusing on our training and doing what we need to do at home. So, we feel confident and comfortable wherever we go to compete, and we’re going to keep that same mindset.”
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