Thanks in part to a fantastic performance by Nathan Chen, who was born in Salt Lake City, the USA figure skating team took silver in the team event at the 2022 Olympics.
After Karen Chen fell in the women’s short program, finishing fifth, which allowed Russia to take over the top spot, she redeemed herself with a good performance in the free skate, securing the silver medal for the United States in the team event.
Punctuated by Kamila Valieva’s free skate, Russia won the gold medal, with Japan winning the bronze.
On the first night of the team event, Nathan Chen scored a 111.71 in the short program — the second-highest score in a short program, just 0.11 points short of the short program world record, set by Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu at the ISU Four Continents Championships in 2020.
Nathan Chen skated to the opera “La Bohème” and landed a a quad flip and a quad lutz triple toe in a pretty much flawless performance.
The USA earned 10 points for Nathan Chen’s skate.
Next up, Nathan Chen will compete in the men’s individual short program and the individual free skate. He is a favorite for gold in both events.
The short program is Monday, Feb. 7, starting at 6:15 p.m. MST, with Nathan Chen scheduled to skate at 10:10 p.m. MST.
The free skate is Wednesday, Feb. 9, starting at 6:30 p.m. MST.