2022 Olympics: Watch U.S. skater Nathan Chen earn the highest score ever for short program

Nathan Chen got a near-perfect 113.97 score in his short program at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday, shattering the previous world record and putting himself in good position to win gold. Chen, 22, fared poorly in the short program at the 2018 Olympics, coming in fifth due only to his winning long program performance. He is now nearly 20 points ahead of longtime rival Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who gave a shaky performance Tuesday, abandoning his first quadruple flip seconds into the short program performance.

Chen, on the other hand, "opened with a perfect quad flip, breezed through a triple axel that sometimes causes him problems, then drilled his quad flip-triple toe loop combination to leave most of the crowd in awe," The Associated Press reports. You can watch the full performane at NBC Sports.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.