American ice skaters who lost to duo overshadowed by dark allegations ‘considering’ taking action

American figure skating duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates have said they considered taking action after losing out on the gold medal during the ice dancing final.

The couple managed to win silver at the Winter Olympics after losing to the French pair Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, with the French team scoring 225.82 points to Team USA’s 224.39.

After one French judge favoured Beaudry and Cizeron by a considerable amount, the International Skating Union declined to look into the scores, explaining, as per ESPN: “It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations."

Chock has since said it would be helpful to see 'more transparent judging', telling CBS News: “It would definitely be helpful if it’s more understandable for the viewers, to just see more transparent judging and understand... what’s really going on.

The pair won silver (Tang Xinyu/VCG via Getty Images)

“Because there’s a lot on the line for the skaters when they’re out there giving it their all, and we deserve to have the judges also giving us their all and for it to be a fair and even playing field.”

Meanwhile, Bates told USA Today: “We felt like we delivered our absolute best performance that we could have. It was our Olympic moment.

"It felt like a winning skate to us, and that’s what we’re going to hold on to.”

Chock and Bates have now said that they would 'consider' an appeal, with Chock telling Access Hollywood: “I suppose we would consider it. I think skating is such a subjective sport, but I do think that for fairness it is good when the judges are reviewed for their work.

"Not just after this competition but every competition to just make sure there’s a fair and even playing field for all athletes.”

French pair Cizeron and Beaudry have faced a controversial few years off the ice.

French pair Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron took gold (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

While Cizeron used to be partnered with Gabriella Papadakis, the pair split in 2024 and earlier this year, Papadakis released a memoir in which she accused Cizeron of being 'controlling' and 'demanding'.

Cizeron has denied this and is taking legal action.

Meanwhile, Beaudry partnered up with Cizeron after having to split from Nikolaj Sorensen, with whom she is also in a relationship.

Sorensen was suspended in 2025 over a 2012 allegation of sexual assault, which he has denied. The ban has now been overturned, and there has been no criminal review into the allegations.

“From the beginning, we tried to create a bubble where we really supported each other through everything,” Cizeron said of his pairing with Beaudry.

"We’ve been through some incredibly hard moments. But the love we have for each other and for the sport brought us through. It helped us refocus on enjoying those moments together, because they don’t last forever, and we didn’t want that taken away from us.”

LADbible Group has contacted the IOC and ISU for comment.