BEIJING, China — The U.S. earned its highest finish of the last three Olympics in the team ice skating event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Following consecutive bronze medal finishes in 2014 and 2018, ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates put on a spectacular performance to lead the U.S. to a second-place finish in China.
> Watch Chock's and Bates' performance below:
Performing their avant-garde alien-astronaut love story, the U.S. champions skated with the kind of emotion and precision that could land on them on the dance podium before the Beijing Games are done. The Ice Dance - Free Dance medal round is scheduled to take place next Monday, Feb. 14.
Their score of 129.07 was their highest in international competition and, more importantly, edged the Russians by less than a point.
“I honestly had no expectations,” said Chock, who along with Bates captained the American team. "I heard the Russians’ [score] right before we skated and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s such a hefty score.’ And then it was like: ‘All right, focus.’”
> Watch live 9NEWS programs, original shows, daily forecasts and top stories on Roku and Fire TV on the free 9NEWS app.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Beijing Olympic Games
MORE WAYS TO GET 9NEWS
Subscribe to our daily 9NEWSLETTER for top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you. Get content and information right now for can’t-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP
iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n
HOW TO ADD THE 9NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KUSA.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9NEWS" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.