Madison Chock’s Olympic journey alongside her husband, Evan Bates — two of the most accomplished ice dancers in Olympic history — came to an end last week when they captured gold in the team event and silver in the individual competition.
That has given them time to take in the rest of the action, most recently highlighted by figure skater Alysa Liu winning gold in Thursday night’s women’s free skate final.
Liu posted a total score of 226.79, nearly two points ahead of silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, who entered the event as the favorite in many eyes.
The past 24 hours have belonged to Liu, as she has made the media rounds and embraced the spotlight. On Friday, she broke her social media silence, posting a photo on Instagram of herself smiling while holding her two gold medals — including the one she earned in the team event for Team USA last week.
Her caption read: “These are for y’all.”
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Liu’s post, which hasn’t even been live for 24 hours, has already surpassed 1.5 million likes and drawn more than 12,000 comments — many from celebrities and fellow Olympic athletes.
One of those messages came from Chock, who showed her support by writing, “You’re incredible.”
While Liu’s Olympic journey — at just 20 years old — appears to be just getting started as she wraps up her second Games, Chock’s may very well be coming to an end alongside Bates.
The decorated duo has accomplished nearly everything they set out to achieve, and at 33 and 36 years old, respectively, the next Winter Olympics being four years away adds another layer of uncertainty. Although neither has made a formal announcement, it appears the Milano-Cortina Games could be their final Olympic appearance.
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