In sync on and off ice

Madison Chock and Evan Bates found chemistry when she chose him to be her ice dancing partner in 2011. Then they found some even more.

Madison La'akea Te-Lan Hall Chock and Evan Christian Bates have been on a long and intense journey together as skating partners over the past 13 years. They have competed in more than 100 competitions around the world and won five U.S. national championship titles, two world championship titles and an Olympic gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">But the biggest moment of their lives, they said, came on June 20: exchanging leis as they said "I do" at the Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute on Oahu, Hawaii.

They decided to get married there to honor Ms. Chock's Hawaiian heritage. The venue is a cultural institute dedicated to preserving Hawaiian culture.

The couple met 18 years ago in Michigan, "the mecca of ice dancing at that time,” said Ms. Chock said.

Mrs. Chock, who grew up in Redondo Beach, Calif., moved to Novi, Mich., in 2005 at age 13 to transition from singles figure skating to ice dancing, which requires a partner. Mr. Bates lived in Ann Arbor, where he grew up.

They practiced at different rinks about 20 minutes apart, but the ice dance community was a small one. They met in 2006.

Both thrived with their ice skating partners. Mr Bates, now 35, and his partner were junior world champions in 2008. Ms Chock, 31, and her partner won in 2009.

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