OLYMPIC CHAMP HANYU LEADING CHEN
The faceoff between Yuzuru Hanyu and Nathan Chen was no contest.
Japan’s Hanyu, looking every bit the champion of the sport, won the short program Thursday at the World Figure Skating Championships, distancing himself from Chen when the American fell on his opening quadruple lutz while Hanyu was sheer perfection.
Hanyu has been the sport’s biggest attraction for two Olympic cycles, each of which ended with him wearing a gold medal. He showed why in a short program packed with difficulty, style, artistry and a ton of energy.
His body rotation on his jumps — a quad salchow, triple axel and quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination — was so fast it was almost imperceptible. His musical selection, “Let Me Entertain You,” by Robbie Williams, matched Hanyu’s frenetic performance that, had there been spectators on hand, would have left them as breathless as the skater.
“It is something we wanted everybody to enjoy, of course,
and we came up with this program,” Hanyu said through an interpreter, though he is fluent in English. “It would become an even better program if we have a live audience and the clapping and cheering. Everybody is tuning in on the internet and TV, and I can actually feel that, and I am accepting all that energy on the ice when I am skating this program.”
No, there weren’t fans on hand at the Ericsson Globe because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Had they been, they certainly would have littered the ice with the Winnie the Pooh dolls that have become a Hanyu trademark.
Renowned coach Brian Orser, a Pooh bear in hand holding a yuzu fruit (a Japanese citrus) by the sideboards, leaped high with every brilliant element by his skater.
There were no celebrations from the Chen camp. The twotime defending world titlist hasn’t lost a competition since the 2018 Olympics. But he’s now more than eight points behind Hanyu’s 106.98 points. And Hanyu’s countryman, 17year-old sensation Yuma Kagiyama, is between the two favorites in second place.
Chen, winner of the past five U.S. titles, struggled early in his program, similar to what happened at the Pyeongchang Olympics. He rallied Thursday, however, by sticking a triple toe loop on the back end of his quad flip so he would have a required combination. And his spins and footwork were strong and intricate. But the fall did him in. “I made a big mistake right off the bat,” Chen said. “I had to figure out how to regroup. Mistakes happen. I’m glad I had this opportunity to learn from and move forward.”
Russians Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, in their first worlds, were spectacular in capturing the gold medal.
Their complex technical elements for the free skate, including exceptional lifts capped by Mishina riding Galliamov’s back for nearly half the rink, were accompanied by lots of vigor in a routine to Queen music.