BEIJING (AP) — Nathan Chen finished his four-year adventure towards an elusive Olympic gold medal Thursday, following his document quick program on the Beijing Video games with a near-perfect loose skate that earned him a status ovation from supporters inside of historical Capital Indoor Stadium.
The 22-year-old famous person landed all 5 of his quads all through his “Rocketman” program, set to the hovering movie ranking by way of Elton John, to complete with 332.60 issues — simply 3 off his personal global document — and turn out to be the primary American champion since Evan Lysacek stood at the most sensible of the rostrum in 2010 in Vancouver.
Chen’s ranking simply outdistanced his two closest pursuers, Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno of Japan, and put firmly prior to now any lingering reminiscences of his brutal sadness 4 years in the past in Pyeongchang.
It is probably not the ultimate gold medal Chen takes house, both.
The American citizens, who earned silver in the back of Russia within the group match Monday, had been waiting for affirmation from the IOC and Global Skating Union that “criminal problems” preserving up the medal rite had been associated with stories of doping related to their largest famous person, Kamila Valieva. That might in the long run carry the U.S. to the gold medal.
Chen did his section for the American group with a successful quick program, and Vincent Zhou — who was once pressured to withdraw from the person match because of a favorable COVID-19 take a look at — additionally would earn a gold medal for his loose skate.
The clever, down-to-earth Chen and his two Eastern pursuers separated themselves from the remainder of the sector all through their quick methods, when Chen shattered the arena document with a flawless efficiency to “Los angeles Boheme.” After they took the ice for the loose skate, Kagiyama and Uno made simply sufficient errors to transparent the best way for Chen’s coronation.
Acting to “Bolero,” one of the crucial standard musical picks of the Beijing Video games, Uno under-rotated a quad salchow and quad toe loop, then was once dinged for his mixture spin past due in this system to complete with 293 issues.
Then it was once the 18-year-old Kagiyama, appearing to song from the movie “Gladiator,” who popped his triple toe loop and triple salchow. It was once nonetheless sufficient to attain 310.05 issues and earn a fist pump within the kiss-and-cry house, however now not sufficient so as to add any force on Chen, who evenly skated around the placid ice as Kagiyama’s ranking was once learn.
With socially distanced crowd gazing Thursday afternoon in Beijing, and thousands and thousands gazing again house on late-night TV, the younger Yale scholar soared via his opening quad salchow. Chen landed 4 extra easy quads, his simplest slight bobble approaching a past due mixture series. He couldn’t wipe the grin from his face because the song completed.
He basked within the highlight in the midst of the ice, then headed off to listen to his rankings, which by way of that time had been a trifling formality. When they had been learn, Chen’s longtime trainer, Rafael Arutyunyan, raised Chen’s arm like a triumphant boxer.
Whilst the highlight shined vivid as ever on Chen, it gave the impression to fade away for his longtime Eastern rival.
Yuzuru Hanyu arrived in Beijing aiming to turn out to be the primary males’s skater since Gillis Grafstrom in 1928 to win a 3rd instantly Olympic gold medal. However after lacking lots of the previous 12 months to an ankle harm, the 27-year-old struggled via his quick program on Tuesday, necessarily taking him out of rivalry for a medal.
All that was once left for Hanyu was once a go-for-broke shot on the quad axel, a 4 1/2-revolution soar that hasn’t ever been landed in festival. He got here shut, however couldn’t rather cling onto the touchdown, then fell once more on his quad salchow earlier than an emotional end to what might be his ultimate efficiency on Olympic ice.
His ranking left him fourth, in the back of his two teammates.
And, after all, in the back of the brand new American champion.
