Madison Chock and Evan Bates Lead Team USA to Early Advantage as Figure Skating Team Event Opens Milano Cortina Olympics

Madison Chock and Evan Bates put Team USA into an early lead in the figure skating team event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday, February 6, scoring a season's best 91.06 points in their rhythm dance performance. The three-time world champions and husband-wife duo skated to a Lenny Kravitz medley featuring songs like "American Woman," narrowly edging out France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron to claim top honors in the opening segment of competition. The figure skating team event marks the first medal opportunity of the 2026 Winter Olympics, with the sport's powerhouses battling for supremacy across four disciplines. Friday's competition featured rhythm dance, pairs short program, and women's short program events, with points tallied across all segments before the final standings will be determined after the men's free skating on Sunday. Team Great Britain sits in third place after the first day of competition, while powerhouses USA and Japan look poised to battle for gold. Chock and Bates, who won their record seventh U.S. ice dance title at the national championships in January, are competing in what could be their final Olympic Games. The decorated pair has been a cornerstone of American figure skating for over a decade and entered Milano Cortina 2026 as medal favorites in both the team event and individual ice dance competition. Their rhythm dance score of 91.06 represents their best mark of the season and sends a clear message to their international rivals. The depth of the USA and Japan rosters appears difficult to match by the rest of the field, particularly in the singles events. Team USA boasts world champion and Grand Prix Final winner Alysa Liu, three-time national champion Amber Glenn, and rising star Isabeau Levito in the women's competition. Japan counters with three-time world champion Sakamoto Kaori, 17-year-old phenomenon Nakai Ami, and Chiba Mone, giving them elite options across all disciplines. The team event format awards points based on placement in each segment, with the top five teams in the short programs and rhythm dance advancing to the free skate portions. The cumulative points across all eight segments determine the final medal standings. Chock and Bates' commanding performance in the rhythm dance gives USA a crucial early advantage, with 10 points awarded for their first-place finish compared to nine for France's second-place result. Competition continues Saturday with the men's short program and pairs free skate, followed by the women's free skate and men's free skate on Sunday to conclude the team event. The United States will look to maintain their lead and capture team gold for the first time since the event's introduction at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where Russia claimed victory. With the return of NHL players to Olympic competition this year, the Milano Cortina Games represent the most anticipated Winter Olympics in over a decade, and figure skating has delivered compelling drama from the opening whistle.