Madison Chock and Evan Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades on Saturday, as the Americans held onto first place with their jazzy free skate following a strong performance by Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
Chock and Bates finished with 222.06 points, while Gilles and Poirier took the silver medal for the second straight year with 216.54. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson landed on the podium in third, earning Britain's first world medal of any color since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean finished their run of four straight ice dance titles in 1984.
Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov were the last to win three in a row, triumphing four straight times for Russia from 1994-97.
"Coming in here, we weren't thinking about a three-peat or any type of title defense. It was a standalone event," Bates said. "We were prepared as we could possibly be and we skated as well as we could have."
Now, Chock and Bates are ready to turn their attention to their big goal: the Winter Olympics in February.
The longtime partners have been on the stage before, and were part of the U.S. squad that won team gold at the 2022 Games in Beijing -- following a protracted investigation into Russian doping. But for all their success, Chock and Bates have never stood on an Olympic podium in ice dance itself, finishing just off it in fourth place three years ago.
"I think the Olympic season certainly carries a different weight than the other three years," Chock said. "You have this incredible opportunity to reach the entire world, and it makes it really special, because it amplifies our voices on and off the ice."
The Americans and Canadians have come to dominate ice dance in recent years, winning six of the nine medals awarded in the past three years. And on Saturday, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finished fifth for the U.S., continuing its impressive showing in the nation's first home worlds since 2016.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.