Madison Chock and Evan Bates Confirmed For the World Championships Amid Retirement Speculations

The Figure Skating World Championships are returning to Prague after thirty three years, scheduled from March 24 to 29.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates Confirmed For the World Championships Amid Retirement Speculations

Madison Chock and Evan Bates performing their free dance routine of Ramin Djawadi’s orchestral arrangement of “Paint It Black” in the Westworld (Image via Fox News)

In Short
  • Madison Chock and Evan Bates will compete at the World Championships in Prague next month.
  • The pair has won the last three World Championships and are strong contenders despite retirement speculations.
  • Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov will skip the World Championships to rest before the next season.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, ice dance silver medalists at the 2026 Winter Olympics, have been confirmed for the World Championships in Prague next month. After their performance in Milano-Cortina, which the pair called their final Olympic appearance, it was speculated that the pair would hang up their skates.

The pair, who started skating together in 2011, are one of the contenders in Prague, having won the last three World Championships. As the competition returns to Prague after 33 years, the ice dance competition has garnered massive attention, especially after the controversial free dance at the recently concluded Olympics.

In Milano, the French pair of Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry won the gold medal despite significant errors in their programme. Cizeron and Beaudry had trouble completing their twizzles, the former coming out of it a little too early. The US pair, as well as the Canadian pair, Paul Poirier and Piper Gilles, who eventually settled for bronze, had exceptionally smooth skates compared to the champions.

In the aftermath of the tournament, it was revealed that the French judge in the jury panel had awarded them a higher score than average. Chock had come out strongly against the judging system and called for greater transparency, noting that the inconsistent results negatively impact the sport.

The three medalists from Milano Cortina 2026 will be returning to the World Championships. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who won the bronze in Boston last year, will also be returning. Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri, who represented Italy at the Olympics and are two-time medalists at World Championships, will one among the striking absences from the discipline in the Czech capital.

Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov to skip the World Championships

In the men’s singles, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, Mikhail Shaidorov has decided to skip the World Championships in Prague. The Kazakh national has been going through a packed schedule leading up to the Milano Cortina 2026 and decided to give himself a bit of rest before preparing for the next season.

Mikhail Shaidorov
Mikhail Shaidorov jumping on to the podium at the men’s figure skating singles medal ceremony (Image via @ISU_Figure on X)

Shaidorov had won silver in Boston last year. Ilia Malinin, who had an uncharacteristic off day in the free skate, falling twice, causing him to drop from first to eighth at the Olympics, will be making an appearance.

Malinin won the competition last year, as well as in Montreal a year before. The United States team will also feature Andrew Torgashev, but instead of Maxim Naumov, it will be Jason Brown representing Team USA alongside Malinin and Torgashev.

The other top competitors in the men’s singles discipline would Adam Siao Him Fa from France who was the only one to best Malinin before. The Winter Olympics silver and bronze medalists Yumi Kagiyama and Shun Sato will also be participating in Prague.

Ahead of the World Championships, Malinin, Adam, and a selection of figure skaters will skate in the “Art of Ice” gala in Switzerland. Started in 1995, this Swiss gala starts in Zurich before moving to Freiburg and Davos this year. Malinin is scheduled to skate in the Zurich leg, with few of his videos circulating online ahead of the performance.

He’s reportedly bringing back the much-talked-about Balmain jeans from the Olympic Figure Skating Exhibition Gala.

Lukas Britschgi, who became the first Swiss man since 1947 to win the European Championships, will be one of the highlights, being the home boy. Madison Chock and Evan Bates will also be skating for this annual event.

From pair skating, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, the Georgian pair who won a silver medal at the Olympics, are scheduled to skate. Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, are also scheduled to skate.

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