US figure skating star Nathan Chen wins Olympic gold in dominant outing

Nathan Chen earned his Olympic redemption.

Four years after failure in the short program spoiled his dreams of gold at the Pyeongchang Olympics, Chen on Thursday earned his gold medal with a dynamic and memorable performance in the men’s singles free skate, securing the title with a total score of 332.60 after he compiled a 113.97 in the short program on Wednesday.

With the win, he became the third American to win gold at the Beijing Olympics.

“It’s just a whirlwind right now,” Chen said in an interview with NBC. “Everything’s happening so fast. That program was a lot of fun to skate. Just had a blast out there and I’m really grateful.”

Skating to a selection of Elton John songs, Chen hit every trick, doing all he needed to retain his lead for gold. Chen came into the night with a lead of slightly less than six points over Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, who had a 108.12 in the short program. Chen needed a 196.09 in the free skate for gold and got a 218.63.

“I can’t even describe it,” he said of his emotions. “You can’t even imagine what it might feel like. It’s just amazing.”

He landed five quad jumps and ended the program with a showman-like series of moves set to “Bennie and the Jets.” Even before his score was announced, there was little doubt Chen was about to win gold after he had put together the most memorable performance of the night.

Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, also of Japan, finished with silver and bronze, respectively, with scores of 310.05 and 293.00. But that wasn’t enough to best Chen. Not nearly enough.

“As soon as I finished the last jump,” Chen said, “I thought I was really close.”

Jason Brown, the other American in the event, finished in sixth with a 281.4 after scoring a 184 in the free skate.

Chen, a Salt Lake City native, is the first American male singles figure skater to win gold since Evan Lysacek in 2010. Prior to that, the last to do so was Brian Boitano in 1988. Chen earned his gold on the heels of world championship victories in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and after winning silver as part of the team program earlier in the week. Chen is also the current world record holder for short program, free skate and combined scores.

Getting to experience victory in Beijing, the city where his mother was born, was an additional source of elation for Chen.

The 22-year-old Yale student was expected to win gold four years ago, but struggled in the short program, resulting in a fifth-place finish after he landed five quads in the free skate to move up 12 places. Following that, Chen won every competition he entered until last October, but he was always going to be judged by his performance in Beijing.

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After winning the short program in the team competition to help the United States to silver, Chen set a short-program record with his 113.97 in the men’s singles competition. That set the stage for Thursday, when Chen finally achieved his lifelong dream, one he had been focused on for the past four years.

Just as in Pyeongchang, he came into these Games as one of the faces of NBC’s coverage. Unlike in Pyeongchang, he made the most of the opportunity, living up to his billing as the world’s best figure skater in every way.

He stood on the podium afterwards waving raised arms and looking ahead, not behind.

Finally, after all the waiting and all the work, he was an Olympic gold medalist.