It may not have seemed possible, but
Madison Chock and Evan Bates are only getting better in their 13th season skating together.
At the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2023 at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Chock and Bates took the gold with 220.81 points overall, earning 133.14 points for their free dance to "Souffrance" by Orange Blossom and "Les Tectoniques" by Jorane – both international personal bests.
This is their third Four Continents title, having previously won in 2020 and 2019. They also have two silver medals and two bronze medals. They're the first three-time Four Continents champions in ice dance since Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada (2008, 2012, 2017).
With the podium finish, the seven-time Four Continents medalists also continue Team USA's legacy at this event as the United States have medaled every year Four Continents has been held since the event's inception in 1999.
Chock and Bates outpaced the Canadian pairs of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen, who finished second with 214.08 points, and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, who placed third with 200.00 points even.
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finished fourth, while
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons placed fifth.
"We are extremely happy with how we skated today," Chock said. "It was fun and invigorating from start to finish, and it's been incredible being in Colorado Springs, in our home country, for Four Continents. We always have such a great time at Four Continents. We have so many training-mates here, wonderful teammates and it's just an honor to win our third Four Continents together."
The free dance wrapped up four days of competition at Four Continents.
Emily Chan and Spencer Howe also took home hardware for Team USA, winning silver in pairs.
In the free dance, Chock and Bates received two GOEs north of four points – for their character spin and curve lift which was the highest-scoring element of the competition at more than 14 points – and received Level 4s on their twizzles, straight line lift, dance spin and curve lift.
When they saw their score in the kiss and cry, they both looked stunned. Overjoyed, but stunned.
"A very pleasant surprise," Chock said with a laugh. "I think also just how we felt in the program. I was surprised at how fresh I felt through the whole program, and I think it's a true testament to our training and our mental fortitude that we were able to train in Colorado Springs for two weeks and have two competitions in three weeks. It was a whirlwind, but it was great fun."
Indeed, Chock and Bates spent the two weeks following the 2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where they won their fourth U.S. title, staying at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center to acclimate to the altitude before Four Continents. They knew it was going to be a grind, so Bates says they "loaded up" on training in December and January to prepare and made some changes to their free skate.
"I think this competition sets us up really well for World Championships and for our goal of winning Worlds," Bates said. "From where we started at Skate America with this program in particular, I could not have imagined the form it has taken on. I think it's just an experience like we haven't had in our whole careers, this season. It's been a big learning experience for us, but we've just been open to it and trusted our coaches. It just took us a little time to kind of find the niche for this program, and once we found it and we were able to have that good period of time after the (ISU Grand Prix) Final, six weeks, to really dive into it, we felt like this program became something really special. And now, second half of the season, we're just getting more comfortable with it, and this competition will certainly give us some confidence heading into Worlds."
In fourth place, Carreira and Ponomarenko earned 189.78 points overall. Their free dance to "Summertime" by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald scored 112.81 points. They received a Level 4 on their opening curve lift, as well as their twizzles, dance spin, and sliding and rotational lifts.
"Overall, two solid performances at this competition," Ponomarenko said. "It's something we wanted to do coming into this event, so we're happy with that, and it's just about getting back to work now, sitting with our coaching staff and brainstorming what's next."
Green and Parsons placed fifth with 186.88 points overall, their free dance to "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin scoring 116.89 points. After a disappointing rhythm dance, the 2022 Four Continents champions received Level 4s on each of their lifts in the free dance, as well as their twizzles.
"Proud," Parsons said of their effort. "I think that we're really happy with how we skated today. We were a little frustrated going into the free dance, but really proud of how we fought, how we skated together, how we worked together. And this just serves as really good motivation going into Worlds, because we have so much more to show. I think that we are better than what our scores showed at this competition, but we can also do a lot more to prove that. So we're going to go home and work."
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