Madison Chock and Evan Bates most likely heard your gasps around the world as they fell on the ice during a spin at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last night.
One of three USA teams competing for a spot on the podium, Madison and Evan spun out during one element of their free skate, which was set to John Lennon‘s “Imagine”. Because of the fall, the team ended up in 9th place overall.
“I think we clicked blades entering the spin, and it’s really impossible to spin with that kind of friction,” Evan shared with Time afterwards. “One moment things were going exactly how we wanted to, and the next moment in a flash, disaster stuck. There’s no other way to put it really.”
Madison adds, “As soon as it happened, I couldn’t believe our butts were on the ice where our skates were supposed to be. It’s just not something you want to have happen.”
“We worked so hard this season to reinvent ourselves, and I think we’ve done that. It just sucks that this happened at the Olympic Games. But it’s okay. Life goes on, and we’ll go on, we’ll be okay.”
After their program ended, you could see how heartbroken Madison and Evan were, but don’t worry — they will be back, and stronger than ever. Their next competition will be at the World Championships in Milan.
“We’ve got to come back. We’ve got to come back and redeem ourselves,” Evan says. “That’s part of our story now.”