It was a moment four years in the making, but
Nathan Chen made it happen. The 22-year-old Salt Lake City native joins the fraternity of men to bring home the title of Olympic champion to the United States. In capturing the title tonight at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, Chen booked his place in history, the seventh American man to do so. He now stands among American royalty—Dick Button, Hayes Allen Jenkins, David Jenkins, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, and Evan Lysacek, who have ascended to the top of the Olympic podium.
"I actually didn't know it was that few," he said. "That's amazing. I don't really have too many words about that. I'm just so thrilled. I can't believe this happened honestly. That's kind of where I'm at right now."
The leader after the short program, Chen had the honor to close out the competition as the final competitor. As he waited for his name to be called, the event announcer revealed the mark that Chen had to beat—310.05 points logged by eventual silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama from Japan. Seemingly unphased, Chen strode to his starting position with confidence and waited for his "Rocketman" program to begin.
Once his music started, however, Chen transformed himself into warrior mode, unleashing four perfect quadruple jumps without hesitation. His Level 4 step sequence was perfectly timed to "Benny and the Jets" and brought a rare smile to the six-time U.S. champion's face. The lone mistake in an otherwise perfect program was a popped flip on the end of his trademark quadruple toe loop-Euler-triple flip combination. Chen put an exclamation point on his performance with a wildly entertaining street-inspired choreographed sequence that he performed brilliantly.
"It was fun," he said. "Once you're done with the jumps, it's a relief so you can just have fun with the rest of the program and enjoy yourself. I'm glad that I was able to do that."
After the competition, Chen reflected on what it took to get his to this place in his career, crediting those who supported his dream when resources were sparse. He recalled how much his parents sacrificed and what his coach Rafael Arutunian did to push his career further.
"My mom and I grew up quite poor," he shared. "We didn't really have very much money, and she would just scrap together some dollars to pay (Arutunian). Raf obviously knew about the situation, and thanks to the kindness of his heart was able to continue taking me in with as much money as we could provide him. At a certain point he said 'I don't really need that—I just want to help you achieve the goals that you want.' I'm forever grateful for that support. He would give me the money back sometimes, but I would always try to stick it back in his pocket."
Chen finished the competition with a total score of 332.60 points, more than 20 points ahead of Kagiyama. Reigning silver medalist Shoma Uno, also representing Japan, earned bronze with a total competition score of 293.00 points, while teammate and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu just missed the podium in fourth place.
"It's just been an honor to share the ice with Hanyu over the years," Chen said. "Watching him as a kid, I never even dreamed that I would have the opportunity to skate with him, and to be able to compete against him has been a really great honor. In my opinion, he is the greatest skater ever."
Team USA's
Jason Brown also had a fantastic showing in Beijing, finishing in sixth place, with a career-high 281.24 points. The 2014 Olympic bronze medalist (team event) delivered a haunting "Schindler's List" program, landing six dynamic triple jumps.
Brown's performance left no musical note unstudied and rarely gave the 2015 U.S. champion a moment to catch his breath. Instead of oxygen, Brown seemed to fuel himself with passion, telling a tragic story that he brought to life with his dramatic interpretation.
"Right now there are a lot of mixed emotions," he admitted. "I think it's been a really big build up, and I haven't allowed those emotions to get to me. I was just keeping on, keeping on every step of the way. Definitely when I have that moment and let the floodgates go—that really good emotional letdown will be good. I am really proud of myself to get here. Right after you are done skating, you think about all of the things that you could have done better, but I am really proud of what I was able to do here at these Games."
Brown improved his international best scores in the short program, free skate and total score. The Illinois native also earned 96.34 for her program components score, the second highest in the field after Chen.
"It's been eight long years to get back to this point and believe in myself that I deserve in that final group. I'm just really proud of that."
Olympic silver medalist (team event)
Vincent Zhou was unable to compete in the men's event due to a positive COVID-19 test. His presence was missed by his fellow teammates.
"My heart goes out to Vincent and the situation he is in," Chen explained. "He certainly would have brought a lot of talent to the competition and we certainly miss him."
