Winter Olympics: figure skater Nathan Chen steals the show on day six as China’s mixed aerial team narrowly miss out on gold
- American Chen makes up for his failure four years ago with a stunning free skate performance as Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu finishes fourth
- On a good day for Team USA, Chloe Kim wins the women’s half-pipe while Mikaela Shiffrin practises for the Super-G after failing to finish her two previous events
American Nathan Chen earned a standing ovation as he danced to figure skating glory while China’s mixed aerial team narrowly missed out on gold after failing to dislodge the USA in their final jump at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Chen made up for his failure four years ago with a scintillating free skate in which he landed all five quads during his Elton John Rocketman programme, scoring 332.60 points – just three off his own world record. He became the first American since Evan Lysacek in 2010 to win gold.
Though Chen was adored inside the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, he was loathed online as Chinese fans of Japan’s “Ice Prince” Yuzuru Hanyu lamented their hero’s fourth place after he fell twice during his routine.
On an overall good day for Team USA, snowboarder Chloe Kim added to her country’s haul by winning the half-pipe, becoming the first woman to win back-to-back golds, with Chinese freestyle skier and good friend Eileen Gu among the first to congratulate her.
Austria’s Johannes Strolz won gold in the men’s Alpine combined, 34 years after his father Hubert also stood on top of the podium at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde took silver and Canada’s James Crawford claimed a career-best finish for bronze. China’s Zhang Yangmin and Xu Mingfu came in 16 and 17 respectively.
China’s aerial mixed team went into the final jump of the event at Genting Snow Park with Qi Guangpu needing a spectacular performance to unseat the Americans. While Qi did nothing wrong, it was not enough as the USA took gold on 338.34 points, with China second on 324.22 points and Canada taking bronze with 290.98.
Day six, however, belonged to Chen, who beat out Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno to silver and bronze respectively. An emotional Chinese skater Jin Boyang delivered a beautiful run, scoring 179.45, a season best to finish ninth overall.
But, online, it was largely ugliness that greeted Chen’s win. “What is he doing? It looks like street dance but it’s not, looks like a robot dance but it’s not. What a monkey show,” one disgruntled commentator wrote, reflecting the general tone shown by Weibo users towards the American champion.
Hanyu, though, received a flood of sympathy, with comments such as “I’ve never hoped for a Japanese to win champion so much” and “Besides pity, there’s also admiration! Yuzuru is truly passionate about figure skating … [he] demonstrates that he is genuinely outstanding professional athlete who deserves our love and admiration”.
The Americans, meanwhile, who earned silver behind Russia in the team figure skating event on Monday, were awaiting confirmation from the IOC and International Skating Union that “legal issues” holding up the medal ceremony were related to reports of doping linked to the ROC’s biggest star, Kamila Valieva. That could ultimately elevate the US to the top step of the podium.
Chen, meanwhile, celebrated his win. “It means the world. I’m just so happy,” Chen said. “It’s a whirlwind right now. I had a blast out there. Halfway through my programme I was like, I should probably smile a bit more.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it redemption. You know, in 2018 I learned so much. That experience gave me so much, in terms of how to deal with high-level competitions. I definitely learned the most from my mistakes.”
In more good news for the US, star skier and two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin turned up for Super-G practice on Thursday, saying she would compete in Friday’s competition after failing to finish her two previous events.
Austria’s Alessandro Hammerle took gold in the snowboard cross after a dramatic race that went right down to the line, beating 20-year-old Canadian Eliot Grondin after a long video review. Italy’s Omar Visintin won bronze.
The Netherlands’ Irene Schouten set an Olympic record of 6:43.51 in winning the women’s 5,000m speed skating gold, with Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann (6:48.18) taking silver and Czech Republic’s Martina Sablikova (6:50.09) winning bronze. China’s Han Mei was 11th out of 12 skaters in 7:08.37.
After the news Valieva had tested positive for a banned substance, a confirmed doping case was reported at the Games. Organisers have not named the person, who tested positive for an anabolic androgenic steroid. Mainland Chinese media named the person concerned as Iran’s Alpine skier Hossein Saveh Shemshaki, who was also his country’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.
Additional reporting by Reuters
