BOSTON — When the triumphs pile up, when you have been atop the field in your sport for more than two seasons, when you have been a medalist in national and world championships from your early 20s to your 30s, it is easy to become happy with what you have already accomplished in 14 seasons as competitors.
For those who become timeless champions, though, the Sisyphean but still fulfilling quest for perfection always endures.
So it is for U.S. ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who came into the 2025 World Championships with an Olympic gold medal, six national titles and five world medals, the last two of them gold.
“Yes, we’ve accumulated some titles along the way, but it still feels like we’re still striving for excellence and looking for ways to improve ourselves,” Chock said in a recent interview.
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“The process for us hasn’t really changed, and we always have very strong, big goals. So it’s really just a pursuit of excellence and gold.”
They are closing in on another gold after a dazzling skate Friday afternoon in the rhythm dance, for which this season ice dancers had to choose music from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.
Chock, 32, and Bates, 36, decided to run the gamut, bringing audiences on what they called “A Journey Through the Decades.”
With snippets of “Let’s Twist Again,” “Rock Around the Clock,” “YMCA,” “Last Dance” and others, they took the TD Garden crowd on an eclectic and electric ride.
It finished with a blur of a rotational lift in which Chock did a high-speed spin around his waist before being flipped to the ice in a spiraling move they call, “The Whirlybird.”
The crowd began to show its raucous appreciation midway through the lift. Bates found it both incredible but almost unnervingly loud, even though he sensed it was coming by how well the element was going.
“It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a competitive performance,” Chock said.
It brought them the world’s highest rhythm dance score (90.18) in two years and what in ice dance is a comfortable lead (3.74 points) over Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier going into Saturday’s free dance (1:30-5 p.m. ET, Peacock, and 3-5 p.m., USA Network).
Without the jumps and throws of singles and pairs, where mistakes can be very costly, there are rarely big swings in ice dance. A smaller lead after the worlds rhythm dance last year (2.56) was enough for Chock and Bates to win the title despite losing the free dance to Gilles and Poirier.
“That’s a tough amount of points to catch up on, but we also know that sport is really unpredictable,” Poirier said.
“We’re certainly not going to take our lead for granted,” Chock said.
As two-time reigning world champions, with a home crowd ready to give its full support, Chock and Bates came to Boston with expectation as great as any in their career.
“Pressure is absolutely a privilege and one we’ve become familiar with,” Chock said. “We’re very grateful, and we appreciate every moment.”
Philip Hersh is a special contributor to NBCSports.com. He has covered figure skating at the last 12 Winter Olympics.
