Chen wins the title; Palo Alto teen is 2nd
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nathan Chen stood on the top step of the podium and stifled a smile when U.S. Figure Skating President Samuel Auxier, preparing to drape a gold medal around his neck, bowed down before him.
Indeed, all hail the new king of American skating. Chen followed a recordsetting short program with a nearflawless free skate featuring five quadruple jumps Sunday to become the youngest men’s U.S. figureskating champion in more than five decades. Chen, 17, performing to “The Polovtsian Dances,” became the first skater in the world to land five clean quads in competition. The result was a freeskate score of 212.08 — more than the composite of several rivals — and finished with a 318.47 total that put him well clear of the competition.
“That was an amazing performance. I’m really happy with what I did,” the skater from Salt Lake City said. “Component-wise, I kind of faltered a little bit. That stuff happens when you’re pushing these secondary elements to the max. It’s definitely something that I’m looking forward to ... improve for worlds.”
Palo Alto’s Vincent Zhou, 16, missed on his first quad but was clean the rest of the way, even if the youngster lacked some of the polish of his peers. His total of 263.03 earned him the silver medal.
Jason Brown skated a smooth, stylish routine to move into the bronze-medal position.
Chen has been considered the future of American skating for years, and his performance at the Grand Prix Final in France last month appeared to validate it. He topped Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan in the free skate and finished the competition second overall.
Chen topped his own performance by literal leaps and bounds Sunday.
“The U.S. is back on the map, on the world stage,” Chen said, looking at Zhou and Brown alongside him on a dais. “With us three, we’ll push the U.S. back to where they should be.”