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Two-time ISU World Champions Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) are on track for a third consecutive title at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025 in Boston (USA). The 36 Ice Dance couples brought the 1950s, '60s and '70s to life in their Rhythm Dances. From Boney M. to Bee Gees, Le Freak to The Beach Boys, the dancers energized the crowd at TD Garden. With the majority of spots for the Olympic Winter Games 2026 on the line, the excitement was palpable. Dancers had to reach the top 20 to earn a chance for an Olympic quota place.

All business for Chock/Bates (USA) 

Two-time and reigning ISU World Champions Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) are on track for a third gold, having danced to the lead with almost four points to spare ahead of reigning ISU World silver medalists Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier of Canada. 

Great Britain’s Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson sit third and are in a medal position for the first time at an ISU World Championship.

Chock/Bates have their eyes firmly set on gold on home ice. They did not set a foot wrong in their performance, which was a musical journey through the decades, earning a level four for the twizzles and lift and a level three for footwork. The reward was a season's best 90.18 points.
 

Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) set a season's best score of 90.18 to take the lead after the Rhythm Dance on Friday © ISU

“This was so fun, honestly,” Chock said. “We really love this routine. We love dance and this program really showcases so many styles of dance, and it comes with a lot of joy. It feels great to close out our season with a great performance.”

The husband-and-wife team has good memories of Boston. In 2016, they won bronze here.

“We love Boston. We've been here multiple times. We came here for camp in August and we got to tour the city. This time we haven't been doing too much sightseeing because we've got our focus set on the ice. This is a business trip,” Chock said. 

Bates remembers 2016 fondly. 

“I remember having a full crowd and a lot of joy and support and today it was the same,” he said. “From the five-minute warm-up to the introductions, all the way through, it was so fun. The crowd was unbelievable. When I was doing the last lift and felt, heard the noise, it was an unbelievable atmosphere.”

Gilles/Poirier brought some sunshine into the TD Garden with their fun Beach Boys medley, taking the roles of Barbie and Ken. The 2025 ISU Four Continents Champions produced smooth steps and a level-four rotational lift to score 86.44 points for their dance.

The 2024 ISU World silver medalists Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) are second after the Rhythm Dance © ISU

“We felt really calm and present in the moment,” Poirier said. “It felt like we could really dance and enjoy ourselves.”  

The Canadians also competed at the ISU World Championships in Boston in 2016, like Chock/Bates and Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri. 

“Now we come into these championships with so much more experience and expectations. It’s exciting to now be standing on a level we once aspired to. It’s been an unpredictable season for Ice Dance, and our job is to come out and give our best performance tomorrow,” Poirier said.

Fear/Gibson entertained the crowd with “Le Freak”, picking up a level four for the twizzles and lift for 83.86 points.

Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) are trying to reach the podium for the first time at an ISU World Championships © ISU

“I’m so happy,” Fear said. “This is the skate we have been wanting for all season. We really put in the work between European and Worlds. Now what we have been training for really showed up under the pressure. That’s what we wanted, and our goal, so we are very excited.”  

Gibson agreed. 

“We had the most fun crowd here, it was really amazing. People were screaming at us when we were passing by them, which was really cool. We tried to entertain each other, so people entertain us, so the connection (between the audience and us) really adds to our performance.” 

Two-time ISU World medalists Guignard/Fabbri were edged off the podium by less than a point (83.04 points) and are determined to attack in the Free Dance on Saturday. 
 

Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) are less than a point behind the third-place team heading into the Free Dance © ISU

“We still have the Free Dance,” Guignard said. “Tomorrow, we want to perform the way we know we can do it, and like we have done it many times before, and like we did at Europeans where we had a very strong performance. We’ll try everything to move up.”

Two-time ISU Four Continents bronze medalists Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN) were fifth with a fun dance to “Austin Powers” (81.77 points), while Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA) round out the top six on 81.51 points. 

Remembrance moment 

While celebrating the sport of Figure Skating, the community does not forget those who were lost. At the start of the Championships, the ISU — together with US Figure Skating and the Skating Club of Boston — will remember and honor the victims of the aviation tragedy of January 29 where 28 young athletes, parents and coaches lost their lives. This “Remembrance moment” took place on Wednesday, March 26th, at 18:15 p.m. (local Boston time). 

Road to Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games

The 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston will serve as the primary qualification event for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. The first quota places will be allocated during the World Championships in Boston and the remaining ones at the Olympic Qualifying competition in Beijing (CHN) from September 17-21, 2025 (read more here). 

What and when 

The schedule of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025 is as follows:

Wednesday, March 26:  Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Thursday, March 27:  Men’s Short Program & Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March, 28:  Rhythm Dance & Women’s Free Skating
Saturday, March 29:  Free Dance & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, March 30:  Exhibition Gala & ISU Figure Skating Awards

A total of 190 Skaters representing 42 countries have been entered for the Championships: 39 Men, 33 Women, 23 Pairs and 36 Ice Dance couples. Boston hosts the ISU World Championships for the second time after 2016 and this the 14^th time that the USA are hosting the event.

For more information, full entry lists and results, visit the ISU event page of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025 and the official event website of the Championships. Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldFigure and #FigureSkating.

Where to watch the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025:

The ISU World Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news. 

Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.