Yuzuru Hanyu Wins Figure Skating Gold Medal
With nothing to lose after finishing a disastrous 17th in the short program, Chen became the first Olympian to land five quadruple jumps cleanly in a routine
and actually attempted six, but put his hands to the ice on a quad flip.
Chen became the first Olympian to land five quadruple jumps cleanly in a routine
and actually attempted six, but put his hands to the ice on the quad flip.
He made the decision to attempt six quads on Friday night, after the short program, relieved of expectation
and feeling “just an anger,” telling himself, “I’ll just go for it.”
“I definitely did want to redeem myself after the two short programs
that I did here,” Chen said in reference to his mistake-filled performances in the team and singles competition.
He placed two of his four quadruple jumps and all of his combination jumps in the second half of his performance, receiving
bonus points given to skaters at a point when their legs begin to tire in a four and a half minute routine.
And his attempt to become the first Olympic skater to land two quad Lutzes — the
most difficult of the four-revolution jumps being performed — came up short.
Nathan Chen, who bombed his short program and stood in only 17th place, hoped to make up ground with a daring five quad performance.
