U.S. and Canadian figure skaters hope sports can unify during world championships

American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates always have been treated with such kindness and support from the people in their longtime training base in Montreal that Canada has become a second home for them.

Many of their closest friends are Canadian. They spend as much time there as they do in the United States.

None of that has changed, necessarily, despite the divisive rhetoric from government officials from both countries and tariff wars simmering between the longtime allies. Yet the two figure skaters have started to notice some other differences lately.

"We were at a cafe last weekend," Chock said, "and Evan ordered a coffee, an Americano, and the barista delivered it and said, 'Here's your Canadian.' And we were like, 'Oh. It's an Americano, and they don't want to call it an Americano, for obvious reasons.'

"That was our first experience with that being reflected in Canada."

Now, the reigning world champions are curious what will transpire this week in Boston, where they'll be trying to win their third straight title against a field that includes their dear friends and longtime rivals, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada.

Will the American fans at TD Bank Garden support everyone universally, as is the custom in figure skating, when competition begins Wednesday? Or will there be more robust cheering than usual for Chock and Bates, and perhaps even some boos for their neighbours from the north, in what should be a preview of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy?

"America has always had a very global reach when it comes to politics and culture," Chock said, reflecting on that café encounter, "but we never really saw that truly reflected in her until that moment, when it was like, 'Oh, OK. I understand now."'

Wo