The 2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships concluded Sunday, Jan. 27 with the men's free skate.
Nathan Chen (Salt Lake Figure Skating) reigns as champion for the third year in a row after putting out two clean performances. With an immense free skate score of 228.80, Chen landed three solo quads and then a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination later in the program. Chen's overall score of 342.22 points topped the field by more than 50 points.
The Yale freshman has been juggling a full course load and training at the same time, but he sees it more as an opportunity than a challenge.
"There are pros and cons with anything, but I don't mind the training atmosphere I'm in," he said. "I'm really grateful that Yale is allowing me to continue skating while pursuing my studies."
The now three-time national champion made several changes to both of his programs at this competition, including switching the quad flip and quad Lutz in his free skate.
"I thought it would be smarter to put it as the first jump - get it out of the way and not have to worry about it," he said.
Vincent Zhou (Skating Club of San Francisco) rose to second after a third place finish in the short. His 183.76-point program included four quad attempts, one in combination. While the opening quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination was clean, the quad flip and quad Salchow were under-rotated, and Zhou fell on the quad toe loop.
Zhou skated last in the entire event, something he said is always a high-pressure situation.
"My legs were definitely a little shaky because I was so nervous," he said, mentioning he covered his ears while Chen's score was read. "But I thought I did a really good job today of staying in my own bubble and focusing on what I need to do."
The 2017 World Junior champion said that he felt proud of what he put out on the ice, but he's ready to get back home and continue training.
"To achieve what I did here this week and still have massive opportunity for growth is a really great thing," he said.
Jason Brown (Skokie Valley Skating Club) earned the bronze medal with 273.08 points. Brown planned to open the program with a quad Salchow but doubled the jump. Despite the fault on the quad, Brown continued performing his best and landed the rest of his jumps with ease, earning the second-highest components score of the competition.
"It's all part of the process of building and building," Brown said. "I'm working really hard to focus on all the changes that we're making and every so often it gets away from me, but I'm really proud the fight out there, and that's really all I could ask."
The quad Salchow tonight hasn't fazed Brown, and he got off the ice, his signature smile still across his face. He said he plans on working on the jump and will try again at the next competition.
"I'm definitely disappointed because I would've definitely would've like to have rotated that," he said, "but I definitely want to be able to do it the rest of the season."
Coming off a sixth-place finish at the Junior Grand Prix Final in December,
Tomoki Hiwatashi (DuPage Figure Skating Club) finished fourth with 253.28 points. This is his first time on the U.S. Championship podium after three years of competing at the senior level.
"I just did the same thing I did at the [JGP] Final," he said. "I just focused, relaxed, went out and did great."
After a last-place finish at the JGP Final, Hiwatashi was happy to have turned his performance around, feeling more focused and prepared.
"I had to go over something, fix something," he said. "I wanted to stay relaxed but also be focused."
