By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent
Nathan Chen did not disappoint, winning his sixth consecutive national championship heading into February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
He amazed those seated at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville not only with his multiple quads, but his crowd-pleasing dance moves on the ice to wrap up his free skate.
Chen fell short of perfection, falling on the ice twice. Yet he literally laughed off the second fall which came toward the end of his free skate. By then, he knew the gold medal would be his.
“This was really a fun championship,” Nathan told NBC. The crowd was amazing. I’m glad to be part of this generation. I look forward to pushing this team.”
Vincent Zhou, who came into the finals in second place, suffered from multiple falls and missteps. He dropped to third place.
The surprising second-place finisher is Ilia Malinin, a newcomer to the senior circuit who some are already predicting will be the new king once Chen calls it quits.
Chen finished with 328.01 points. Malinin ended up with 302.48 with Zhou following at 290.16.
Veteran Jason Brown ended up right behind Zhou with 289.78.
Chen and Zhou are shoe-ins for the Olympic team. The committee must decide whether to give the third slot to Malinin or to Brown.
This will Chen’s opportunity to redeem himself for his fifth-place finish in the 2018 Winter Games. Since Pyeongchang, he has only lost once.
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