Olympic veteran Karen Chen and two-time US Champion Alysia Liu go into tonight’s free skate in 2nd and 3rd place at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship, reports USA Today.
A top-three finish would likely earn them a spot on the U.S. Olympic team although the final decision is up to a U.S. Figure Skating Association committee.
Liu stumbled into third place after falling on a triple axle during the short program.
Chen followed Mariah Bell’s superb program with an outstanding one of her own despite changing her short program.
“It was definitely a risk to change my short program coming here. But I also knew it would be risky if I kept something that I just wasn’t enjoying,” Chen said. “So I’m really happy with how I just delivered and attacked this program.”
Bell leads the field with a score of 75.55 points. Chen is exactly one point behind and Liu stands in third with 71.42.
According to NBC, Chen could become the first American woman skater to make back to back Olympics since Sasha Cohen in 2002 and 2006.
Liu is considered the favorite of the pack but has had issues of late with her jumps. She is the first American woman to land a quadruple jump in competition but hasn’t attempted one since March 2020. Five of her six triple jumps have been down-graded or under-rotated this season.
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