Nathan Chen had to wait four long years for redemption at the Olympics, but on Thursday in Beijing he left no chance and won the first gold of his multi-year career.
Just over four minutes at the Capital Indoor Stadium during Thursday’s free skating session, which was set to an ensemble soundtrack from Elton John’s “Rocketman” biopic, skater Chen. finally won the ice – was dazzled with a combination of poise and precision, landed all five of his quadruple jumps and ended his performance with a pointed finger towards crowd.
Chen later said that he knew in that moment he was capable of taking the top spot on the podium.
“After finishing the last jump, I think I’m pretty close [to guaranteeing gold]”, Chen said in an interview on NBC. I’m keeping an eye on what’s going on, so I have an idea… [I was] so happy. “
The 22-year-old American has been one of the most dominant figure skaters in years, with three world championships and six national titles, but he hasn’t been able to thrive in the Olympics. 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. Two short programs fraught with flaws, in individual and team events, proved costly. He won bronze with Team USA but finished in a disappointing fifth place in the men’s singles event.
But for Chen, these Olympics were different. He had the highest score in the short program in the team event, in which the American won the best silver medal ever, and showed no signs of nervousness or fear left. left over. And his performance on Tuesday’s short show in the individual event was even better. Chen earned the highest short-term program score in history with 113.97.
However, despite his leadership, confidence and increased motivation, Chen knows the job isn’t over.
“You can never really count any of these athletes,” Chen said on Tuesday. “The contest is not a show. Whatever happens in the short program is not an indication of what will happen in the free program.”
But with the best score again, he left no room for his opponent to reduce the deficit and became the first American to win figure skating gold since Evan Lysacek in 2010. Chen’s final composite score was 332, 60, 22 points higher than the rest. of this field. It was a lifelong goal achieved but even better than he had dreamed of.
“I can’t even describe it,” Chen said. “You can’t imagine how it can feel, but it’s just amazing.”
Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, both of Japan, took home the silver and bronze medals.
Their compatriot, Yuzuru Hanyu, who has won two gold medals before, enters the night in eighth place and hopes to earn some points by becoming the first figure skater. in the history of successfully landing the quadruple shaft. He was unable to complete the jump, fell and ended up in fourth place.
Jason Brown, the other American competing in the event, finished sixth.
