Feb. 7 (UPI) — Nathan Chen of the United States made sure on Tuesday that he is considered the man to beat at this year’s Olympics in men’s figure skating.
The three-time world champion, a Utah native, smashed his short program during the men’s qualifier and in doing so set a new world record with a score of 113.97, beating his rival Yuzuru Hanyu’s previous record of 111.82 set in 2020.
Chen, 22, skated third to last at the Capital Indoor Stadium and opened with his iconic quad flip, which he followed with a triple axel, both of which he landed with soft grace.
His program, skated to “La Boheme” by Charles Aznavour, also included a flawless quad lutz with a triple toeloop that propelled him to the top of the 30-man field.
The Salt Lake native scored the record as he seeks redemption following his fifth-place finish in men’s single at Pyeongchang in 2018. He also scored a bronze in the team competition at those Games.
But his skate on Tuesday puts him as the favorite to stand tall upon the podium when all is said and done in Beijing.
“I was just elated,” Chen told NBC on how he felt after finishing his record-breaking skate. “Last Olympics, both short programs didn’t go the way that I wanted, and finally getting the opportunity to skate the program to the way that I wanted feels really good. It means a lot.”
Chen, who has already medaled in these Olympics, scoring a silver in team figure skating earlier this week, bounced to second Japanese skater Yuma Kagiyama, who scored 108.12 during his program.
Hanyu, who is seeking a third-straight gold medal in the event, finished with a disappointing 95.15 due in large part to opening the program by failing to perform a quad salchow and only rotating once.
Following the skate, Hanyu told the press that he wasn’t sure what happened.
“Honestly, it feels like I didn’t even make a mistake,” he said. “I don’t know, is it bad karma? Did I do something to be disliked by the ice? That’s how I feel, standing here being interviewed.”
He said it’s confusing because his preparation was on point and everything was going right until then.
“I’m just going to give it everything I’ve got and try to claw into the competition,” he said.
His skate placed him eighth while his fellow Japanese teammate Shoma Uno finished third with a score of 105.90.
American Jason Brown also qualified for the medal round on Thursday with a score of 97.24, which landed him firmly in sixth place.
Vincent Zhou of the United States did not compete Tuesday after pulling out of the Games a day prior following a second positive COVID-19 test on Sunday.
Now, 24 skaters will compete for medals during the free skate portion of the competition on Thursday.
