Chen turns into the primary American determine skating champion since Evan Lysacek in 2010 and capped probably the most dominant four-year runs within the historical past of the game.
Nathan Chen remembers making the lengthy drive together with his mom from his dwelling in Utah to Rafael Arutyunyan’s coaching base in Southern California. He had began out in determine skating only a few years earlier, utilizing his sister’s skates and sleeping within the automotive to observe his Olympic goals.
Ten years later, Chen sat alongside Arutyunyan as his scores have been learn and that dream realized.
With an almost good free skate on the heels of a record-setting quick program, the 22-year-old Yale scholar walked away with the gold medal on the Beijing Video games on Thursday. He turned the primary American determine skating champion since Evan Lysacek in 2010 and capped probably the most dominant four-year runs within the historical past of the game.
“My mother and I grew up fairly poor. We actually didn’t have a lot cash,” Chen stated. “She would simply scrap collectively some dollars to attempt to pay Raf, and Raf clearly knew concerning the state of affairs and due to the kindness of his coronary heart, was in a position to simply proceed taking me in, and taking as a lot cash as we may present him.”
Arutyunyan would attempt to give the cash again generally, Chen stated, “however I'd at all times attempt to stick it in his pocket.”
On Thursday, Chen was in a position to give his outdated coach one thing priceless.
“I’m pleased. Simply emotional,” Arutyunyan stated. “He made it.”
Inside historic Capital Indoor Stadium in China, the nation each his mother and father immigrated from, Chen landed all 5 of his quads throughout his “Rocketman” program set to the hovering movie rating by Elton John. The statistics and information science main completed with an insurmountable whole of 332.60 factors, simply three off his personal world file and 22 factors forward of his closest competitors. Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno of Japan took silver and bronze.
Chen additionally firmly put prior to now any lingering recollections of his brutal disappointment 4 years in the past in Pyeongchang, when not even a monumental free skate may rescue his medal hopes after a disastrous quick program.
“It means the world,” he stated. “I’m simply so pleased.”
This gold medal won't be the final Chen takes dwelling, both.
The People, who earned silver behind the Russians within the staff occasion Monday, have been awaiting affirmation from the IOC and Worldwide Skating Union that “authorized points” holding up the medal ceremony have been associated to experiences of doping linked to their largest star, Kamila Valieva. That would in the end elevate the U.S. to the gold medal, a second for Chen.
“I imply, I don’t actually really feel like I’m probably the most certified particular person to speak about it,” Chen stated. “No matter finally ends up being the case would be the case, however I’m nonetheless wrapped up in what I used to be in a position to do right this moment.”
The Salt Lake Metropolis native did his half for the American staff with a profitable quick program final Friday. Vincent Zhou, who was compelled to withdraw from the person occasion as a result of a constructive COVID-19 take a look at, would additionally earn a gold medal for the U.S. as a result of he carried out his free skate on Sunday.
The suave, down-to-earth Chen and his Japanese rivals separated themselves from the sector throughout their quick applications, when Chen shattered the world file with a flawless efficiency to “La Boheme.” After they took to the ice for the free skate, Kagiyama and Uno made simply sufficient errors to clear the way in which for Chen’s coronation.
Performing to “Bolero,” probably the most standard musical choices of the Beijing Video games, Uno under-rotated a quad salchow and quad toe loop, then was dinged for his mixture spin late in this system to complete with 293 factors.
Then it was the 18-year-old Kagiyama, performing to music from the movie “Gladiator,” who popped his triple toe loop and triple salchow. It was nonetheless sufficient to attain 310.05 factors and earn a fist pump within the kiss-and-cry space, however not sufficient so as to add any stress on Chen, who was calmly skating throughout the placid ice as Kagiyama’s rating was learn.
With a socially distanced crowd watching Thursday afternoon in Beijing, and thousands and thousands again dwelling on late-night TV, Chen soared by his opening quad salchow. He landed 4 extra easy quads, his solely slight bobble approaching a late mixture sequence, and couldn’t wipe the grin from his face as he seemingly reached for the sky.
The lyrics to “Rocketman” that performed by the outdated dwelling of ping-pong diplomacy — “And I believe it’s gonna be an extended, very long time, ’til landing brings me ’spherical once more” — appeared altogether becoming for the second.
Chen basked within the highlight in the midst of the ice, then headed off to listen to his scores, which by that time have been a mere formality. As soon as they have been learn, Chen’s longtime coach raised his arm like a triumphant boxer.
“He deserves it,” stated American Jason Brown, who completed in sixth place. “I’ve gotten to compete with him during the last 4 years — in any respect the world championships, each nationwide championship, the Grand Prix. There is no such thing as a yet another deserving. He labored so onerous. He’s so unbelievably gifted. I’m so proud to be a teammate.”
Whereas the highlight shined vivid as ever on Chen, it appeared to fade away for his longtime hero and Japanese 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 straight Olympic gold medal. However after lacking a lot of the previous yr to an ankle damage, the 27-year-old struggled by his quick program on Tuesday, primarily taking him out of competition for a medal.
All that was left for Hanyu was a go-for-broke shot on the quad axel, a 4 1/2-revolution bounce that has by no means been landed in competitors. He got here shut however couldn’t fairly maintain onto the touchdown, then fell once more on his quad salchow earlier than an emotional end to what could possibly be his ultimate efficiency on Olympic ice.
His rating left Hanyu in fourth, simply out of the medals behind his two teammates.
And, in fact, behind the brand new American champion.