Nashville Jan. 10 (BUS): Nathan Chen won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships for the sixth year in a row Sunday in Nashville, dominating fashion to cement his place as the gold medal winner at next month’s Beijing Olympics.
Chen, whose only defeat since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games last October in the first Grand Prix event of the Olympic ski season, was far from perfect in his free skate as he fell twice but did more than enough to separate himself from the pack. , Reuters reports.
The 22-year-old took the top spot after breaking his own record in his short program on Saturday with a performance of 115.39 points and came back to score 212.62 points in Sunday’s free skating.
Chen’s total of 328.01 left him in a familiar spot on the podium while Ilya Malinin (302.48) took second and Vincent Chu (290.16) finished third.
“The competition was very tough today,” Chen said. “I am delighted to be part of this generation and just looking forward to seeing where we can continue to push snowboarding in the United States.”
During his free skating, Chen fell early and then laughed towards the end of the program at a slip she saw on the ice during the dance sequence.
When it was all over, Chen had completed six quadruple jumps between the two programs to extend his reign.
No American man has enjoyed such a dominant race in the National Championships since twice Olympic champion Dick Button won seven consecutive titles from 1946 to 1952.
The 17-year-old, making his first national championships, landed four quads during a clean free skate, but it wasn’t enough to secure a ticket to Beijing as he was passed over for a place on the team by the selection committee.
The committee, which considers results going back to the US Championships in January 2021, chose instead Chen Wuzhou and fourth place Jason Brown.