NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Incredible. Amazing. Awesome.
And that was just for the short program.
Those were some of the reactions from the skaters themselves Saturday after Nathan Chen, clearly back on his game, set a short program record at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday.
Indeed, four skaters broke the 100 mark as they took aim on the three berths available to Americans for next month’s Beijing Olympics.
“This U.S. national short program was insane,” said Chen, who beat the event mark of 114.13 he set in 2020 with a score of 115.39. “Every guy laid down amazing programs.”
Leading the way was Chen, the three-time world champion who is chasing his sixth consecutive U.S. crown, something not done since two-time Olympic winner Dick Button got seven in a row from 1946-52.
With a performance full of superb footwork and spins — oh, yeah, there were two massive quads in it, too — Chen sent a message to all his competitors, here and abroad.
That was too high, above the ice and on the judges’ score sheets, for Vincent Zhou. Chen’s main competition here was excellent, though, appearing relaxed and confident throughout his program as he nailed the same quad lutz-triple toe loop that Chen did for a score of 112.78 that was a personal best.
“One of the craziest short program events ever probably,” Zhou said. “The general idea, the pressure was on, so I’m honored to have the opportunity to compete in this field.”
Ilia Malinin, 17, jumped his way to third place ahead of veteran Jason Brown, 103.46 to 100.84, in a brilliant display of skating for most of the men’s field.
“I mean, it’s amazing to have such strong U.S. competitors, especially heading into an Olympic season,” Chen said. “Regardless who gets to go, we’ll have a really strong team there. But you focus on…
Source : espn
