The Milano Ice Skating Arena’s spotlight saw American ice dance pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates finally secure their individual Olympic medal. This was long overdue, as the silver medal came following more than a decade of their partnership, which saw four Olympics together and three consecutive world championship titles. But the main question? Is Milan their final destination?

While many fans wondered about their future, the Michigan couple confirmed their future in a recent interview. When asked directly if he and Chock would compete in the 2030 Winter Games, Bates offered a response, stating, “I’m thinking 2034.” This came after the American duo danced to their matador-themed free skate for a total score of 224.39. However, they were just 1.43 points short of gold medalist pair Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.

The 2034 Games are scheduled for Salt Lake City, a home-soil return that would mark an astonishing sixth Olympic appearance for Bates and a fifth for Chock, who turned 33 in Milan. “We’ve got a lot to be proud of and a lot to be grateful for because we’ve had an incredible career. Sometimes that’s just how it shakes out. This is this story for us and I wouldn’t change anything,” Chock said following their silver medal in ice dance.

Securing that accolade in Milan was quite important for the confidence they currently carry. After a disappointing ninth-place finish in PyeongChang and Chock’s subsequent ankle surgery, the pair relocated to Montreal to work on their performance. The result was an unprecedented run of three consecutive world titles in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Finally, the individual Olympic medal followed after two team golds (the first one at the Beijing Games, and the recent one in Milan). However, being committed till the 2034 Salt Lake City Games will be a big challenge for the two.

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Indeed, with new pairs approaching the scene, the arena won’t be easy for them to achieve that dream gold medal on home ice. Well, but when has it been that easy for the two? That team gold in Milan was just a few points away from going over to Japan.

Madison Chock, Evan Bates, and Team USA almost lost that gold

Japan was the nation to seal the control of the team figure skating competition entering the final moments. Team USA had a lead, but it vaporized with the Japanese team’s collective effort. Madison Chock and Evan Bates were the ones to lay the foundation for the United States with a rhythm dance score of 91.06 points.

But the advantage evaporated entirely when world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs free skate with a career-best 155.55 points, earning ten points for Japan, and Kaori Sakamoto dominated the women’s free skate with 148.62 points, pulling another ten points for her nation.

When Amber Glenn stepped onto the ice for the women’s segment, the pressure got to her. She finished third with 138.62 points, contributing eight necessary points, but immediately acknowledged her struggle.

“I feel guilty. My team performed so well, and I scored fewer points than they expected from me, and than I expected from myself. I hope we can still win, but even if we do, I probably won’t feel like I deserve Olympic gold. And there’s another thing I feel guilty about: I’m very sorry for putting so much pressure on Ilia [Malinin]. I wanted to hold on to our lead. But unfortunately, I lost it. And now there’s nothing I can do except try my best in the individual event and support my team,” she said.

So, this left everything on Ilia Malinin’s shoulders to bring that team gold. And guess what? The Quad God delivered. Skating under pressure, Malinin secured 200.03 points, which also saw him recover following losing balance during a loop. Japan’s Shun Sato also performed well but secured 194.86 points, which saw Team USA prevail by a single point, 69 to 68.