For U.S. figure skaters Madison Chalk and Evan Bates, there’s more to winning than just medals and trophies on the ice.
The Olympic couple is aiming for two gold medals at next month’s 2026 Winter Olympics, but Jock, 33, and Bates, 36, told PEOPLE that their perspective on the game has matured in recent years as they compete in what may be their last Olympics together.
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“As we’ve grown, I feel like our relationship has gotten stronger,” said Bates, a month removed from the couple’s best and final Olympic gold medal win as teammates.
“Obviously we’re a married couple now, but just the perspective has changed. Skating has always been the main focus, but as we’ve gotten older, I think the relationship has become the main focus,” Bates explained, sitting side by side with his wife. “Skating is obviously still the main focus, but skating is kind of a way for us to strengthen ourselves and our relationship and go through all the experiences in life together, so the appreciation for that partnership is growing.”
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Madison Chalk and Evan Bates
Jock and Bates were paired for the first time in 2011 after Jock’s first ice dancing partner, Greg Zuerlein, retired. Since then, they have become one of the top pairs in American skating today, consistently placing in the top three at the U.S. Championships every year since 2012.
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The couple told People magazine they competed together for several years before any romantic sparks developed, eventually starting dating in 2017.
“It actually took a while,” Bates recalled. “We’ve been skating together for five years and we’ve been friends for ten. I think just experiencing the highs and lows of skating and the pressure of trying to always be your best is what really brought us together.”
Bates said that when the couple first started “feeling romantic attraction,” “literally, it was like when things weren’t going well” with their performance on the ice: “We really leaned on each other in those times.”
Jock, who is from Redondo Beach, Calif., said falling in love with each other “definitely” affected their energy on the ice, and the judges noticed: Since the beginning of their relationship, Jock and Bates have steadily improved on the global stage and are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics as three-time reigning ice dance world champions.
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Madison Chalk and Evan Bates
The couple, who got engaged in 2022 and married in Hawaii in July 2024, fell just shy of a podium finish at the last Winter Olympics in Beijing, although both won their first Olympic gold medal as Team USA in the team all-around.
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But this Olympics is different for Jock and Bates, who charmingly interrupted each other during a sit-down with People to brag about each other’s talents off the ice: Bates is a passionate guitarist, and Jock is an in-demand costume designer who creates competition outfits for them and other competitors. (“This year, in addition to our own designs, she’s designed about 10 or 12 skating outfits for other skaters who are going to the Olympics,” Bates noted proudly.)
Figure skating remains a sport dominated by young people, and with the Winter Olympics taking place every four years, 2026 could be the couple’s last chance to cement their legacy on the ice. There is no doubt, though, that their own legacy is only just beginning.
For now, though, with their biggest competition to date just weeks away, Jock and Bates are focusing on the “stepping stones” they need to cross in order to come home with gold.
“Every day we set some small goals when we perform,” Chock said. “There are a lot of little goals to achieve every day that add up to bigger goals like running faster, fitting the program better overall, performing better. There are little things that go into every performance that are fun things to explore every day and how to get a little better every practice.”
Read the original article on People