Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue are in third place with 87.13 points after the rhythm dance Friday evening at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Madison Chock and Evan Bates are in fourth with 84.14 points and Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker are 11th with 74.58.
Hubbell and Donohue, who competed their Janet Jackson rhythm dance in the team event, returned to Olympic ice to score a personal best 87.13 points. Their program featured two Level 4 elements, including their stationary lift.
“Finishing the end of the performance, we were very happy with what we were able to put out,” Hubbell said. “This is just the first step toward this competition, but we’re extremely happy to have shown this program so strong.”
Chock and Bates performed their rhythm dance to music by Billie Eilish, executing Level 4 twizzles and a Level 4 curved lift. They scored all positive grades of execution to earn 84.14 points.
“In general, it was a bit of a fight,” Chock said. “But there were also a lot of fun moments where we were just dancing to the music. So overall, we had to work for it today but we’re very proud of what we put out.”
In their Olympic debut, Hawayek and Baker performed their rhythm dance to music by Donna Summer en route to a score of 74.58. Earning all positive grades of execution, the team earned Level 4 on two elements.
“I felt like both of us were so present in every second of the performance,” Hawayek said. “I just loved the way we performed and the feeling that we had throughout the entire program.”
France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron are in first with 90.83 points. The ROC’s Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov are second with 88.85.
The ice dance event concludes on Monday morning with the free dance beginning at 9:15 a.m. (8:15 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb. 12). Fans can follow along on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone Competition Central.
