NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
American gymnast MyKayla Skinner, an Olympic medalist, has spoken out against judges who denied Madison Chock and Evan Bates ice dancing gold at the Winter Games this week.
Chock and Bates finished second behind French rivals Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron after a controversial score from a French judge during the final routine.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Mykayla Skinner of Team USA poses with the silver medal after the women’s vault final on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Center on August 1, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Skinner, a former athlete whose accolades were also determined by the judges, said she was “sick” following the decision.
“I’m tired of athletes not getting what they worked so hard for and judges cheating,” Skinner told PK Press Club Digital.
Skinner is not alone.
Former U.S. gymnastics champion Jennifer Sey also condemned the scores that put Beaudry and Cizeron above Chock and Bates, suggesting judges need to be held to more accountability.
“Corruption has always existed in sports judged at the Olympic level. In gymnastics, boxing and figure skating. There needs to be more careful selection of judges to check susceptibility to corruption, and more transparency in how scores are calculated. Beyond that, corrupt judges must be punished with heavy fines to discourage such cheating in the future,” Sey said.
Jennifer Sey founded XX-XY Athletics in March 2024. (Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, a Winter Olympic athlete who missed qualifying for Milan Cortina due to controversial rules also weighed in.
Five-time American skeleton Olympian Katie Uhlaender, who lost the chance to qualify after Team Canada withdrew athletes from a qualifier to reduce the number of points the competition could offer, expressed affection for her fellow Americans in Chock and Bates.
“I’m so proud of Evan and Madison. I know how hard they fought for gold in 2022, a fight that was years in the making before the podium. They represented the United States well and deserved a moment on the podium at the Games as the Olympic champions that they are,” Uhlaender said.
American figure skating star ALYSA LIU reveals she was targeted by a Chinese spy operation.
“I know nothing about judged sports. I know they deserved to be on the top step of the podium in 2022 and they gave the world and the United States their best. Go to the United States and thank them both for representing us so well.”
Skinner said she knows the “sacrifice” athletes make to be able to compete in the Olympics in the first place.
MyKayla Skinner of Team USA poses with the silver medal after the women’s vault final on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Center on August 1, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
“I have so much respect for every athlete that has competed, because I know firsthand how much sacrifice goes into preparing for the Olympics,” Skinner added. “But I think some of the U.S. team’s performances deserved higher marks. When you dedicate your life to perfecting every detail, you expect the judging to reflect that level of excellence.
“From my perspective as an Olympian, I saw routines that were clean, technically sound and emotionally powerful. It’s hard not to feel like they were emphasized. Our athletes showed gold medal-caliber performances, and I stand by that.”
Skinner added that the controversy was a little more personal for her.
“This also hits close to home for me. At the 2016 Olympic Gymnastics Trials, I finished fourth in the all-around, and historically fourth and fifth place had been awarded to the team,” she said. “That year, the selection process did not follow what many expected. I learned firsthand that sometimes things don’t always seem fair in judged sports. But that’s exactly why transparency and consistency are so important! Athletes deserve clarity and confidence that their work will be evaluated fairly.
“I am incredibly proud of Team USA. Regardless of the color of the medal, they represented our country with heart.”
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States compete in the figure skating ice dance free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Chock and Bates were 0.46 points behind the French pair heading into Wednesday night’s free dance, and they were seeking their first Olympic medal in ice dancing with the hope that it would obviously be gold.
Their matador routine, dancing to a rendition of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black,” drew cheers from the crowd and they finished with tears in their eyes.
They finished with 224.39 after scoring 134.67 in their free dance.
Chock and Bates won team gold twice after Team USA won Sunday, but they had to watch another routine to see if they could win gold when Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron took the ice.
But the judges decided the French duo had done enough to ultimately defeat the Americans.
Beaudry and Cizeron earned a score of 135.64 in the free dance for a total of 225.82.
The judgment has become a global talking point in recent days, with some saying the French duo should have been rated more harshly.
Chock suggested that she and Bates would consider appealing the score, in an interview with Access Hollywood.
“I guess we would think about it. I think skating is such a subjective sport, but I think for the sake of fairness, it’s good for the judges to be scrutinized for their work. Not just after this competition but at every competition, to make sure there’s a level playing field for all athletes,” Chock said.
Bates praised his supporters who spoke out during the controversy.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
“It means a lot that people are expressing their opinions on our behalf,” Bates said. “The way we skated and the way we approached the pursuit of these goals I hope resonated with people back home, even in our response. I hope that can also reflect the Olympic spirit.”
The International Skating Union (ISU) has since defended the score.
“It is normal that there is a range of scores awarded by different judges on a panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations,” the ISU said, adding that it had “full confidence in the scores awarded and remains fully committed to fairness”.
