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American figure skater Nathan Chen finally earned his moment of redemption, capturing the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Nathan Chen has his Olympic gold medal. https://t.co/kd4c49PvyB #Beijing2022
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2022
Chen is easily considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all-time. He is a three-time and reigning World Champion. But it was not an easy road to get here.
Chen was the favorite to win gold in Pyeongchang in 2018, but underperformed and finished 5th. It took a lot of resilience to come back from that disappointment.
Chen entered the free skate portion of the men's singles event with a lead. He posted a world record score of 113.97 in the short program two days ago. He then landed all five of his quadruple jumps in his final skate. His biggest competition were two skaters from Japan. But both Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno stumbled during their free skate leading to Chen's performance.
That probably took a little bit of the edge off. But Chen still had to go out and deliver and he did just that. He skated a beautiful free skate program, earning a score of 218.63. His combined score from both skates, 332.60, added up to the highest of his illustrious career.
The two-time defending gold medalist, Yuzuru Hanyu, bailed out during a jump in the short program. That all but eliminated his chances entering the free skate.
Chen's fellow American skater Jason Brown was the first to take the ice of the final group. He skated well and placed sixth overall.
But this night was all about Chen and his redemption. His crowning achievement has now been realized.
