At age 11, Nathan Chen set his course for Olympic gold

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At age 11, Nathan Chen set his course for Olympic gold

Nathan Chen vowed publicly to have fun at his second Olympics, to free his head of the anxiety that overwhelmed him four years ago.

Chen remained so true to that pledge that he even broke out a wry smile after his one mistake in a free skate of surpassing difficulty Thursday afternoon.

He handled the free and an equally demanding short program so well on his sport’s biggest stage that Chen won the Olympic gold medal easily at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

But there was nothing easy about the journey that got him here.

“I never thought I would actually be able to make this happen,” Chen said. “It was a pretty daunting mountain.”

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In potential swan song, U.S. figure skater Jason Brown vows to do things his way

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In potential swan song, U.S. figure skater Jason Brown vows to do things his way

Jason Brown is a skater for an earlier time, the one before multiple quadruple jumps became necessary to win medals at major international competitions.

And yet Brown still is a skater for all time, one who has created indelible impressions from the entirety of his programs rather than from instants of outstanding athleticism provided by the revolutionary jumps.

"I have utmost respect for what those guys are doing to push the sport technically," he said this week in China. "I’m just in absolute awe, and I wish I could be one of them as well. But I am going to push the sport in my way."

That is through performances like the one Brown gave Tuesday in the short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics. His four jumps simply were part of a seamless, compelling expression of a traditional Black spiritual, "Sinnerman," as sung by Nina Simone and choreographed by Rohene Ward with references to what Alvin Ailey created for his landmark ballet, "Revelations."

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Lessons from figure skating team event: Quads rain, and Valieva makes a splash with hers

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Lessons from figure skating team event: Quads rain, and Valieva makes a splash with hers

This is what we learned from the 2022 Olympic team event that ended Monday with the result everyone expected, as the Russian Olympic Committee took gold, the U.S. silver and Japan bronze:

MEN’S SINGLES HAS POTENTIAL FOUR-WAY BATTLE FOR TITLE

Either Nathan Chen of the United States, who won the team short program, or Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who did not compete, still is likely to win gold.

But Shoma Uno (second in the team short) and Yuma Kagiyama (first in the free) of Japan both skated so well they could take full advantage if Chen and Hanyu make mistakes.

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With a likely Olympic team medal, Karen Chen can fill another gap in her career record

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With a likely Olympic team medal, Karen Chen can fill another gap in her career record

Karen Chen was talking before the U.S. Figure Skating Championships about filling a blank on her résumé.

“I told myself, `Karen, you don’t have a nationals silver medal yet,’” Chen said.

Coincidentally – and you will see the coincidence a few paragraphs from now – Chen noted that in answer to a question on a different topic.

It was the question of whether she hoped her performance at nationals would be good enough to earn her a spot in the Olympic team event. Chen did not get that opportunity at her first Olympics in 2018.

There was an element of not counting chickens in Chen’s response, of being more concerned about first assuring the place on the 2022 Olympic team.

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Nathan Chen makes a statement with commanding short program in Olympic team event

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Nathan Chen makes a statement with commanding short program in Olympic team event

Nathan Chen’s short program to the Charles Aznavour song “La Boheme” includes a passage with an expressive emotional release, his mouth clenched into a grimace, his eyes afire with the passion and longing of the artist the lyrics describe.

The emotion in that choreographed expression during the team event short program Friday morning at the 2022 Winter Olympics also spoke of a different release than the one Chen needed simply to inhabit the role he was interpreting.

Chen seemed to be letting go of all the frustration and disappointment that had followed his stunningly poor performances in the team event and individual event short programs during his Olympic debut four years ago.

“It feels good to have a short program that I actually skated well in an Olympic experience,” Chen said.

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