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Cheered on by a crowd that included Vice President J.D. Vance,
his family and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chock and Bates
were able to secure their team the maximum 10 points for their
Lenny Kravitz-inspired dance while making a big early statement.
The three-time world champions, Chock and Bates are the
favorites to win individual Olympic gold later in the Winter
Games. But they'll be pushed by the new French team of Laurence
Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who had made their own
statement minutes before Chock and Bates took the ice when they
set their own world-best score of 89.98 points.
“We're not focused on that,” Chock said. “We're just doing what
we do.”
They couldn't have done it a whole lot better.
The team event is expected to come down to the U.S. and Japan
for the gold medal. The win by Chock and Bates in the rhythm
dance, coupled with an eighth-place result for Utana Yoshia and
Masaya Morita, means the U.S. has a big early lead.
The short program for women and pairs were later Friday, just
hours before the opening ceremony. Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea
were on the ice in pairs for the U.S. with world champion Alysa
Liu performing her short program.
“We definitely skated great and we’re very happy, as you saw
when we finished. I think we both felt the excitement of just
getting these Olympics underway,” said Bates, who along with
Chock are the only holdovers from the gold medalists at the
Beijing Games.
“That's great start,” Bates added. “It’s always a great feeling
to do it for U.S.”
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