Madison Chock and Evan Bates competing in the championship free dance at the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 26, 2019 in Detroit.
Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates didn’t quite have the season they wanted last year, with Chock’s ankle surgery keeping them from competition in the early going.
They still won the Four Continents Trophy in February for their first international title and placed sixth at the world championships, and on Saturday they launched into Grand Prix season with a win at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City.
The two-time Olympians held first place after the rhythm dance with a score of 80.18 and followed that up with a 122.22 for their free dance on Saturday for a total of 202.40. They were joined by another American duo on the medal stand, with Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finishing second with a total score of 188.47. The duo, in second place after the rhythm dance as well, won the silver medal at the world junior championships in 2018 and bronze in 2017. They were also 2018 junior national champions.
Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus of Canada rounded out the podium in third place with 181.39 points.
In the women’s competition, Amber Glenn was in second place after the rhythm skate and finished with the bronze medal with a total score of 186.28 points. She finished behind two-time world medalist Satoko Miyahara of Japan, who earned the win with a total score of 204.30, and Young You of South Korea, who scored 199.29 for second place.
Glenn’s third-place performance is her best ever at an international event.
Glenn was the last woman added to the Skate America roster this year. She’s made one prior grand prix appearance, a 10th-place finish at the Cup of China in 2017. The former junior national champion finished seventh at the U.S. championships last year.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
