US skater becomes first to hit six quads

After the worst collapse of his brilliant figure-skating career, Nathan Chen retreated to his room in the Olympic athletes’ village and, for once, didn’t dissect his shortcomings in clinical detail. Nor did he torture himself for falling so terribly short in an error-strewn short program that cost him any chance at an Olympic medal. Chen simply put his head on a pillow and fell asleep. The figure-skater who awoke was unburdened by expectation. He felt no pressure. And he returned to Gangneung Ice Arena to complete the statement he’d hoped to make in his Olympic debut at the Games. Chen made history in the process, becoming the first figure-skater to land six clean quadruple jumps in competition, earning a whopping 215.08 - more than 22 points above his season’s best score.

Chen, 18, the two-time US champion, made a figure-skating ‘‘audible’’ before his performance, deciding to add a sixth quad to the five he had planned - a feat that would stretch the limits of athleticism, endurance and precision for a male figure skater.

‘‘Having such a rough short programme allowed me to just forget about expectation and allow myself to really enjoy myself,’’ said Chen, who more than lived up to his nickname of the sport’s ‘‘Quad King.’’

‘‘Adding the sixth quad was almost a game-time decision. I knew at that point I had literally nothing to lose, so I decided just to try it.’’