Nathan Chen wins gold at the Beijing Olympics in men's figure skating
BEIJING -- Nathan Chen has completed his redemption story in Beijing. The 22-year old won gold in Thursday's men's figure skating against a strong field of competitors.
Chen still enjoyed his accomplishments after the ceremony at Beijing Capital Indoor Stadium.
He said, "I never felt that I would be able make it this far in the career." "I had always hoped to win the Olympics and make it to the Olympics. But I thought, 'That's hard. I don't know how I can make it happen.'
Chen took to the ice smiling lightly and looked happy as he skated to Elton John's "Rocket Man" and “Benny and the Jets". Team officials and other Olympic athletes sat in the stadium gave Chen a standing ovation.
As Chen headed to Beijing, his fifth-place finish in the Pyeongchang Olympics event was a shadow. Chen showed that he can overcome the demons and immense pressure of this week by hitting the ice at 2022 Winter Games. His score was 218.63 points. This is 22.55 more than silver medalist Yuma Kuyama from Japan, who scored 310.05. Shoma Uno from Japan won bronze with 293.00. Japan's Hanyu attempted a never-before-done move
Yuzuru Hanyu (also from Japan) placed fourth at 283.21, after falling multiple times during the routine.
Even though the crowd was small, Hanyu had a large Chinese fanbase. Every time Hanyu landed a jump, the few hundred fans from Japan cheered. The 27-year old's moves were impressive even in warmups. His falls brought out groans from the crowd. With signs and their phones ready, fans waited outside the stadium to see him exiting his vehicles.
Hanyu attempted to make history by landing a difficult, never-been-done-before-in-competition quadruple axel in which a skater does 4.5 rotations on a jump, but failed.
Chen, who was deferential, said that the previous gold medalist "progressed in so many ways." Chen acknowledged Hanyu's loss, but said that his attempt to land the quad-axel on Thursday was "really special."
