After the expected spectacular short program in the men’s competition, the American Nathan Chen is in the lead. He has excellent prospects of becoming Olympic champion for the first time on Thursday (02/10/2022).
Chen leads ahead of the two Japanese Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno. “Ice King” Yuzuru Hanyu, on the other hand, is only eighth after a mishap and does not even run in the last group in the freestyle.
Chen wins me world record score
While the double Olympic champion “refused” at Salchow, the big competitors for gold remained almost flawless. First and foremost was 22-year-old Chen, who set a personal best at the Olympics of all places. The judges rated his grandiose performance with 113.97 points – that was a world record.
Chen is already a three-time world champion, he is still missing an Olympic medal, but it is now within reach. He conjured up a fantastic program on the ice to the music “Eternity” by Benjamin Clementine and shone with an amazing combination of four Lutz and three toe loops.
Two Japanese in wait
As in the team competition, the Japanese jumping prodigy Yuma Kagiyama was as light as a feather and the 18-year-old flew over the ice. Sports show commentator Daniel Weis spoke of “Rubber Ball on Skates”, who showed four quadruple jumps, which were rewarded with 108.12 points. Shoma Uno, another powerful Japanese jumper (105.90 points), is on course for bronze.
Junhwan Cha surprised
The biggest surprise in the short program was South Korean Junhwan Cha. The 20-year-old, 15th at his home games in Pyeongchang in 2018, has made a leap under coach Brian Orser to take the fourth-highest scoring of the day.