Fremont’s Chen off to good start at world championships
Karen Chen of Fremont showed again Wednesday she is an athlete who cannot be overlooked.
Chen shook off three years of frustration to finish fourth in the women’s short program at the figure skating World Championships in Stockholm.
Skating to “Rise” by Katy Perry, Chen completed a triple lutz-triple toeloop combination, a double axel and a triple loop to put the United States in a good position to earn a third berth for next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Chen and teammate Bradie Tennell need a total placing that adds up to no worse than 13 to earn a third Olympic spot for 2022. Tennell, the reigning U.S. champion, is seventh heading into the free skate Friday.
Earning the third berth is the real goal for U.S. women because they do not have the technical skills to seriously contend for a medal. Neither Chen nor Tennell includes triple axels in their programs, much less quadruple jumps. So they start at a disadvantage with lower technical base scores.
Anna Shcherbakova, 16, of Russia leads the competition in her World Championship debut. She scored 81.0 points without a triple axel or quadruple jump.
Japan’s Kihira Rika and Russia’s Elizaveta Tuktamysehva each completed triple axel jumps to finish second and third, respectively. Rika scored 79.08 points, Tuktamyshva 78.86 points. Shcherbakova said she will not attempt a quadruple jump in the free skate. The Russian teen said she plans to complete two triple axels instead.
Chen enjoyed her first appearance at the World Championships since 2017 when she placed fourth overall to give the United States three berths for the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. Chen earned one of those Olympic berths but finished a disappointing 11th in Pyeongchang.
After the performance, her troubles began. Chen withdrew from the 2018 World Championships with a recurring foot injury and boot issues.
A stress fracture forced her to skip the 2019 season. Chen enrolled at Cornell University in the fall of 2019 and tried to stay connected to skating while in New York, she has said.
Chen finished her freshman year remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools. The health crisis allowed Chen to relocate to Colorado Springs to train with her longtime coach Tammy Gambill. Chen has said she has taken an academic leave until after the Beijing Games.
Chen, who finished third at the 2021 U.S. nationals in Las Vegas, joined Tennell in Stockholm because of her experience. The U.S. selection committee picked her over surprise national runner-up Amber Glenn.
Chen said she expects more from herself this week. The Olympian said she has not performed the kind of free skate she wants this abbreviated season.
“I want to deliver the free skate that I know I’m capable of,” she told reporters Wednesday. “I am yet to show that at Skate America or nationals, so I feel like this is the time.”
Chen called the short program performance a “confidence booster” she hopes to take into her free skate.
Tennell, also a 2018 Olympian, is known for her strong long program. A good showing Friday could ease the pressure Chen felt in 2017 when teammates faltered.
The biggest surprise Wednesday came from Russian Alexandra Trusova, who failed to complete a combination jump. One of the pre-event favorites, Trusova finished 12th. She is expected to leapfrog many of the skaters with five quadruple jumps planned for the free skate.