Nathan Chen went from disastrous to dominant.
Within the 4 years since a nightmare in Pyeongchang, the American determine skater has misplaced as soon as. His run of excellence might have peaked Monday night time, when the Utah native earned some redemption and aid in a flawless run that represented the best rating ever in a males’s quick program.
Chen’s 113.97 gave him a five-point lead over second place, Japan’s Kagiyama Yuma, earlier than the competitors concludes Wednesday with the free skate.
Yuzuru Hanyu — Chen’s chief rival — was buried in eighth with a 95.15 after an error-filled routine.
Chen, usually mild-mannered, unleashed a fist pump after his efficiency, hinting at what should have been 4 years of frustration since a fifth-place end within the 2018 Olympics.
The 22-year-old, wearing black and skating to “La Boheme,” completely landed strikes that merely nobody else can. Often called the “Quad King,” he completed his routine with a clear quad-lutz, triple-toe mixture.
“I really feel elated,” Chen stated on the NBC broadcast. “Final Olympics, each packages didn’t go the best way that I wished. To lastly get a chance to skate this system to the best way that I wished, it feels actually nice. Means so much.”
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4 years in the past, Chen — who was a favourite — fell aside within the quick packages of each the workforce and singles occasions. He fell on one leap and couldn’t execute a correct quad leap on one other, resulting in a shocking fifth within the quick program for a skater who had not misplaced that 12 months. Within the years since, Chen has received the final three world championships.
If there have been nerves in his Olympic debut, Chen has eradicated them for his encore. He was an enormous a part of Group USA’s silver within the workforce occasion earlier — their finest ever consequence — and now's in place for a gold.
And he most likely doesn't have to fret about Hanyu, who's making an attempt to grow to be the primary males’s skater since 1928 to win three consecutive Olympic titles. Hanyu popped his first leap and stated his skate bought caught in a groove on the ice.
Chen carried out his interview after the efficiency carrying a masks, particularly cautious after teammate Vincent Zhou examined optimistic for the coronavirus, Zhou stated Monday, and needed to withdraw from the occasion.
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