Beijing — Nathan Chen remembers making the lengthy drive along with his mom from his dwelling in Salt Lake Metropolis to Rafael Artyunyun's coaching base in Southern California. He had began only a few years earlier, utilizing his sister's skates and sleeping within the automotive to comply with his Olympic goals.
Ten years later, Chen sat alongside Artyunyun on Thursday morning as his scores have been learn and that dream was lastly realized.
With a virtually good free skate on the heels of a record-setting brief program, the 22-year-old Yale scholar walked away with the gold medal at the Beijing Video games Thursday. He turned the primary American determine skating champion since Evan Lysacek in 2010 and capped one of the dominant four-year runs within the historical past of the game.
"My mother and I grew up fairly poor. We actually did not have a lot cash," Chen stated after the feelings of his stirring triumph had slowly settled down. "She would simply scrap collectively some dollars to attempt to pay Raf, and Raf clearly knew in regards to 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."
Artyunyun would attempt to give the cash again generally, Chen stated, "however I might all the time attempt to stick it in his pocket."
Chen was in a position to give his outdated coach one thing priceless.
"I am comfortable. Simply emotional," Arutyunyan stated. "He made it."
Inside historic Capital Indoor Stadium in China, the nation each his dad and mom 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 knowledge 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 firmly put prior to now any lingering recollections of his brutal disappointment of ending out of the medals 4 years in the past in Pyeongchang.
On the time, Chen made uncharacteristic errors that put him in fifth place after a robust begin, CBSSports.com factors out, however has been has been the highest males's determine skater since and was a favourite heading into this yr's Video games.
This gold won't be the final Chen takes dwelling, both.
The Individuals, who earned silver behind Russia within the group 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 stories 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 do not actually really feel like I am essentially the most certified individual to speak about it," Chen stated. "No matter finally ends up being the case would be the case, however I am nonetheless wrapped up in what I used to be in a position to do in the present day."
He did his half for the American group with a profitable brief program final Friday.
With a socially distanced crowd watching Thursday afternoon in Beijing and thousands and thousands again dwelling on late-night TV, Chen soared via his opening quad salchow. He landed 4 extra easy quads, his solely slight bobble approaching a late mixture sequence, and could not wipe the grin from his face as he seemingly reached for the sky.
The lyrics to "Rocketman" that performed via the outdated dwelling of ping-pong diplomacy - "And I believe it is gonna be a protracted, very long time, 'til landing brings me 'spherical once more" - appeared becoming for the second.
Chen basked within the highlight in the course 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 Jason Brown, who completed in sixth place. "I've gotten to compete with him over the past 4 years - in any respect the world championships, each nationwide championship, the Grand Prix. There isn't a yet another deserving. He labored so onerous. He is so unbelievably gifted. I am so proud to be a teammate."
Whereas the highlight shined shiny as ever on Chen, it appeared to fade away for his longtime hero and Japanese rival.
Yuzuru Hanyu arrived in Beijing aiming to grow to be the primary males's skater since Gillis Grafstrom in 1928 to win a 3rd straight Olympic gold medal. However after lacking many of the previous yr to an ankle damage, the 27-year-old struggled via his brief program on Tuesday, basically 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 leap that has by no means been landed in competitors. He got here shut, however could not fairly maintain 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 rating left Hanyu in fourth, simply out of the medals behind his two teammates.
And, after all, behind the brand new American champion.