Chock and Bates win historic seventh U.S. ice dance title
2026 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships: Ice Dance
It’s seventh heaven for Madison Chock and Evan Bates, winning their seventh U.S. National title and making history. Continuing their momentum this season, Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik edged out two-time U.S. silver medalists Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko who settled for the bronze.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
The three-time world champions commenced their charge for a fifth consecutive title in their animated Lenny Kravitz rhythm dance on Thursday night to score a whopping 91.70 points. The three-time and current Grand Prix Final champions managed level fours on their twizzles, midline step sequence and rotational lift. They also pocketed three perfect 10s for program components (composition and presentation).
“We had a ton of fun performing today,” Chock said. “It really felt like we were very present and grounded and able to enjoy the energy of the arena and the energy between the two of us. We felt like this was a great skate and a good steppingstone towards Milan.”
“They really drive the energy in the arena and help build up each team whenever we take the ice,” Chock said of the rousing crowds at the Enterprise Center. “So, we’re really fortunate to have such an amazing crowd here in St. Louis cheering us on.”
“I think after the pandemic, I really realized how important the crowd was,” Bates added. “Four years ago, or whenever we had the cardboard people in Las Vegas, it just wasn’t the same energy. So now, seeing – even on a Thursday afternoon – seeing what kind of crowd showed up for the rhythm dance was really inspiring and it makes a huge difference for us.”
The veterans brought the sass and drama to their “Paint It Black” free dance performance featuring their signature lifts and commitment to expression. Their twizzles were graded level four as well as lifts and dance spin. They received seventeen perfect tens for program components and snagged a free dance score of 137.17 to finish with a total competition score of 228.87.
“Seven-time national champion,” said Chock in awe. “Seems surreal. I remember growing up and looking up to Tanith (Belbin) and Ben (Agosto) and Meryl (Davis) and Charlie (White) and just idolizing them and just what they embodied for ice dance and encompassed. I really took that to heart and let it guide me and lead me. Hopefully we can leave a little bit of that legacy for the next generation and keep the love for the sport going, because it means so much to us to be able to perform and compete at a U.S. Championship. It’s magical, and there’s nothing like it in the world.”
Bates identified sub achievements within the seven-title success.
“I was thinking about how it took us five years to get our second title after we won in 2015 and we didn’t win again until 2020,” he said. “No journey is linear and ours certainly hasn’t been. And, I think those years where we felt the struggle set us up for this run now that we’ve been enjoying for the last four years or so. And, I think the domestic rivalries that we had through that span of time sharpened us for international competition. And when I look at the landscape of U.S. ice dance right now, and I see the talent on the podium, and just off the podium, the field is so deep. And I hope and I know that those teams are going to sharpen each other for the next quad, or two quads or three quads, and you know, the run of U.S. ice dance on the world podium, I think, is going to continue for a long time.”
“It’s going to be a lot more what it has been,” Chock said of the team’s approach to training in the short weeks before the Olympic Games. “We know what to do. We have our plan, and we’re executing it, and we don’t plan on deviating from it. We’re going to stick to it, trust ourselves, trust our team, and do what we know how to do, which is prepare and execute.”
“I think our performance today was definitely the best that we’ve skated the free dance all year,” added Bates. “And I think it shows that the plan Madison just spoke about is working. And we like to build momentum through the season. It’s a great feeling going into a big event knowing that you’ve skated well at the previous competition. So, we’re going to roll with that momentum into Milan.”
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik
Zingas and Kolesnik finally cracked into the top three at Nationals after finishing fourth, fifth and fourth the last three years, respectively.
The two-time Grand Prix medalists were jubilant following their provocative “Bell Biv DeVoe” rhythm dance which scored them 85.98 points. The judges doled out level fours for their rotational lift, pattern step and twizzles.
“You know, we were really excited to perform today,” Zingas said. “It’s been a crazy year for us already and we’re just trying to enjoy every moment. And although I feel actually today might not have been our 100% best performance, I think I was having a lot of fun and maybe people were enjoying that and seeing that and that’s why we got rewarded for it.”
“I think this was the moment for me where I was, maybe in the whole, like, our competition season, where I was the most present,” Kolesnik reflected. “I was just living in a moment that time and I really enjoyed it.”
“I feel like we do the best when we focus the least on the result,” Zingas said of the Olympic buzz around them this season given their results including qualification for the Grand Prix Final. “And like, that’s kind of something we’ve learned this season. And obviously, the qualification depends on the results this weekend. We want to do our best to put ourselves in a position to make the Games. But I feel all we can do is skate our best. And you know, like, this is just one competition in a whole slew of them will have in our career, hopefully. So, you know, we plan to continue for as long as we can and until we win the biggest competitions there are. So yeah, it’s just a steppingstone and I feel really grateful to be here, especially in such a short timeframe of our partnership.”
During their passionate “Romeo and Juliet” free dance, the team unspooled stunning element after element to earn 127.67 points. Their twizzles, dance spin and lifts were given level fours and they finished the competition with a total score of 213.65.
“This is an extremely special event for us,” said Zingas. “Last year at this time, we experienced some disappointment at the U.S. Championships, and honestly, I feel grateful for that moment because it taught me to know what I want and taught me how I don’t want to feel after a national championship. And I think that was a little bit of a blessing in disguise, because we were able to come together in the off season and know exactly what our goal was and exactly what we needed to do to get here.”
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko
The 2025 U.S. silver medalists performed their energetic “Sweet Dreams” by La Bouche and “100% Pure Love” by Crystal Waters rhythm dance highlighted by level four twizzles and a level-four rotational lift to earn 83.29 points and finish in third place heading into the free dance.
“I don’t know what happened on the twizzles, but we got going afterwards,” Carreira said. “We have a lot of confidence going into our free dance and we’re going to go in with everything.”
“We were very fortunate to have seven full weeks before U.S. Nationals and we did a lot of reflecting with ourselves, with our coaching team and our mental coaches, and figured out what makes us ‘us,'” Ponomarenko said. “And we changed the free dance and we made a lot of good changes. New costumes for the rhythm dance are a shout out to Lisa McKinnon. She was amazing to work with. But overall, just finding that confidence again and figuring out, ‘Why do we compete in figure skating?’ And someone told us, ‘Skate for your 10-year-old self.’ And, the last seven weeks and this Nationals, I’m skating for that little boy who had a dream.”
The duo performed their haunting free dance to Perfume: The story of a Murderer by Berlin Philharmonic & Sir Simon Rattle, resurrected from the 2023-2024 season. The decision bore fruit as the duo received third place free dance scores–123.66–to finish the competition with a total of 206.95 points.
“It means everything for us to be standing here,” said Carreira. “It’s such an honor to be standing with these teams. Everyone here is so talented and we’re just really proud. We had a bit of a rocky start to this season but I’m happy that we kind of got our act together after the Grand Prix, and we were able to deliver good performances here.”
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons were stoked with their rhythm dance performance and the St. Louis audience’s rousing response. The team, fourth in 2022 to miss the Beijing Games, earned 80.55 on Thursday night and finished in fourth place for their skate set to “Groove is in the Heart” by Dee-lite and “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred.
“Overall, we just had a lot of fun,” said Green. “I mean, like, the crowd reaction from the second we hit the starting pose, and just having them giggle and, like, enjoy what we were putting out is why we do what we do as artists. We’re not just athletes, we’re performers and artists, and to have that side of our skating celebrated right off the bat was so good. And it’s hard. It’s nerve wracking here. I mean, I’m not gonna lie. There’s a lot of pressure in this, like the expectation. I think it’s hard not to get nervous, but I think our job is just controlling those nerves and skating through and just staying grounded and staying with each other, and I think we did a really good job with that.”
“In a situation like this, one could say, where there’s so much pressure, there’s so many eyes on you, and you’re competing against the best in the country, the best in the world, those nerves help you to feel so much better when you finish,” Parsons said. “I think one of the main reasons that I compete and we compete, is that feeling when you finish a program and you feel the crowd, you feel the arena. It’s second to nothing and it’s so fun to put down a good skate like we did today and feel that. I mean, it’s basically the culmination of a four-year Olympic cycle, and it’s like, I mean, it’s a big skate coming up, right? If we want to, if we want to make it where we want to go, we’re gonna have to put down a really good skate.”
The 2022 Four Continents champions skated their exotic “Escalate” by Tsar B and “Son of Nyx” by Hozier free dance punctuated by dramatic lifts with innovative positions. The judges rewarded them with a free dance score of 121.50 to finish the competition with a total of 202.05. They won the pewter medal just as they did in 2022.
“We left every single piece of ourselves out there on the ice today,” Parsons said. “And it’s hard to speak now. I just feel empty. But, I mean, in the best possible way.”
“This program has meant so much to us in terms of, like, the growth that we’ve had the past four years,” said Green. “I think the theme overarching now that we’re at this, like culminating point, it’s just like the agency that we wanted to have in our creative process and our coaching. And just being able to manage our training in some ways and take ownership over that. And, I think, to have so much input in this program and to work with someone like Jean Luc (Baker), who’s so open to our creativity, and just like the way we throw things at the wall thinking that they might never be possible, and having someone just like egg you on and say “No, like, follow that thread,” I think it’s been so rewarding. So, the fact that we get to show the finished product of that here with a really clean skate and delivering the way that we know we’re able to, I think it’s just so rewarding. Such a relief.”
Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville
Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville were ecstatic with their score of 79.43 following their rhythm dance set to “Vogue” by Madonna and “Walk 4 Me” by Tronco Traxx. The duo hit level four on the rotational lift and Somerville managed a level four on the twizzles while Emily received level three.
“We’ve had a pretty horrible season,” Bratti said. “Honestly, this is like the best feeling ever. Like, it just feels like all the hard work we’ve put in has paid off. And, like, we worked so hard the last, like, few months.”
“It’s the best thing ever after having a difficult Grand Prix season, not being as prepared as we want it to be, and receiving feedback from judges and officials even that maybe we should change our rhythm dance,” said Somerville. “Which was really hard to hear. We really love this piece of music. And obviously the Grand Prix didn’t go as well as we had liked. So, all the work that we put in since our last competition in November, we put in so much work and even worked with a professional Vogue dancer.”
The 2024 U.S. bronze medalists carried some of the momentum from the rhythm dance into the free dance. They performed their tender “White Crow” routine to earn a score of 117.86. They finished in St. Louis with a total of 197.29 points to remain in fifth place.
“We’re really happy with how it went,” Bratti said on Saturday. “It was honestly really hard. I think we really gave everything all weekend, even practices, and we felt at least, I think we both felt, like, very tired from early on. More than usual. So, it felt like kind of a fight to get through it. But we’re really happy we were able to stay clean and get everything done. And it was fun. No matter what, like, we got the job done and we connected with each other. And I think I’m really proud of like, even though it was a fight to get through it, we stayed with each other and didn’t let anything go, which we’ve done before. So, we’re really proud of that.”
“Also, we skated with each other,” Somerville added. “We made sure that we really connected mostly with each other, not really focusing too much.”
The team is hopeful that they will be sent to the ISU Four Continents Championships.
“I mean, we knew that the Olympics wasn’t really in the picture, with our Grand Prix season being so poor,” Somerville said. “But we really wanted to fight for the Four Continents. So, that was a goal.”
Oona Brown and Gage Brown finished a close sixth (194.31), followed by Katarina Wolfkostin and Dimitry Tsarevski (186.60) and Leah Neset and Artem Markelov (176.46).
Related Info:
The post Chock and Bates win historic seventh U.S. ice dance title appeared first on Golden Skate.