Nathan Chen Makes Redemption by Winning the Gold Medal in Beijing Olympics with Near-Perfect Skating

At the Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday, American Nathan Chen received a standing ovation as he danced to victory in figure skating while China's mixed aerial team nearly lost out on gold after failing to displace the United States in their last leap.

During his Elton John Rocketman program, Chen, 22, made up for his failure four years ago with a spectacular free skate in which he nailed all five quads, garnering 332.60 points - only three off his own world record. Since Evan Lysacek in 2010, he was the first American to win a gold medal.

Nathan Chen put His 2018 Struggles Behind

Chinese fans of Japan's "Ice Prince" Yuzuru Hanyu bemoaned their hero's fourth-place finish when he fell twice during his routine even though he was revered inside the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing.

Chloe Kim, the first woman to win back-to-back golds in the half-pipe, added to her country's overall excellent day by winning the half-pipe, becoming the first woman to do so. She was congratulated by a Chinese freestyle skier and good friend Eileen Gu.

Johannes Strolz of Austria won the men's Alpine combined gold medal at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, 34 years after his father, Hubert, bagged a gold medal. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway won silver and James Crawford of Canada won bronze, a career-best result. Zhang Yangmin and Xu Mingfu of China placed in 16th and 17th place, respectively.

At Genting Snow Park, China's aerial mixed team headed to the last jump, with Qi Guangpu needing a sensational performance to beat the Americans. Despite the fact that Qi did nothing wrong, the USA won the gold medal with 338.34 points, China came in second with 324.22 points, and Canada came in third with 290.98 points.

In the finals on day six, Chen took silver and bronze against Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, respectively. Jin Boyang, an emotional Chinese skater, scored a season-best 179.45 points to place ninth overall, as per South China Morning Post.

Chen has only won one competition since the 2018 Olympics. Yuzuru Hanyu, a back-to-back Olympic gold medallist, came in fourth after popping one of his quad jumps in the short program, but he was unable to keep up with his old and new competitors. At Skate America this year, Shoma Uno, the 2018 silver medalist who was also the first man to perform a quad flip, defeated Chen and was ready to seize the chance if Chen made mistakes.

He missed out on a gold medal due to a fall in the free skate, but he did win a well-deserved bronze. Yuma Kagiyama, a world silver medallist, was a dark horse coming into the free skate after a deliciously lively short program placed him in third place. Even with a poor free skate, he was able to take home a silver medal.

The Japanese skaters provided us a preview of the future of this ever-changing and competitive sport, one that today's veterans will no longer be able to compete in. Kagiyama, who is only 18 years old, has a lot of time to beat Chen. Hanyu also made a strong bid to win in his free skate.

Nathan Chen Pays Tribute to His Mother After Winning the Gold Medal

After winning a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, Nathan Chen conveyed his gratitude to his mother, Hetty Wang, as well as Michelle Kwan, a two-time Olympic winner. The fact that he won the gold medal in his mother's hometown of Beijing made it all the more special.

Chen complimented his mother for helping him obtain a coach when they didn't have a lot of money early on in his career. Chen paid respect to his mother even further in an interview with Today, recalling how she travelled from Salt Lake City to fetch him to train with his current coach in California.

Due to the COVID-19 procedure, Chen's family was unable to attend the event in person, but he was able to celebrate his record-breaking score of 218.63 points through video conference. Michelle Kwan, a five-time world champion who won bronze in Nagano in 1998 and silver in Chen's hometown of Salt Lake City four years later, was also recognized. Kwan is a five-time world champion who won bronze in Nagano in 1998 and silver in Chen's hometown of Salt Lake City four years later, according to Bleache Report.

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