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.
"I was just elated," Chen said afterwards. "At the last Olympics, both of the short programs didn't go the way I wanted. To finally get an opportunity to skate the programs I wanted feels really good."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Instead of Hanyu, who won gold at the last two Olympics, Chen's main competition is now from Hanyu's teammates Yuma Kagiyama and reigning silver medalist Shoma Uno. Chen's medal status will be determined after Thursday's long program.
-
The ‘menopause gold rush’Under the Radar Women vulnerable to misinformation and marketing of ‘unregulated’ products
-
Voting Rights Act: SCOTUS’s pivotal decisionFeature A Supreme Court ruling against the Voting Rights Act could allow Republicans to redraw districts and solidify control of the House
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
-
FBI nabs dozens in alleged NBA gambling ringSpeed Read Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among 34 people indicted in connection with federal gambling investigations
-
Trump orders NFL team to change name, or elseSpeed Read The president wants the Washington Commanders to change its name back to the 'Redskins'
-
Thunder beat Pacers to clinch NBA FinalsSpeed Read Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals
-
MLB lifts ban on Pete Rose, other dead playersspeed read 16 deceased players banned for gambling and other scandals can now be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
-
Canada beats US in charged 4 Nations hockey finalSpeed Read 'You can't take our country — and you can't take our game,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after the game
-
Eagles trounce Chiefs in Super Bowl LIXspeed read The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22
-
Indian teen is youngest world chess championSpeed Read Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, unseated China's Ding Liren
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fansSpeed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
