U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen put his previous Olympic woes behind him with a world record-breaking short program.
The 22-year-old skated to the French song “La Bohème.” His performance was practically flawless.
Chen struggled with consistency at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. NBC analyst and former Olympian Johnny Weir called his short program for the team event “a disaster.”
But Beijing seems to be a new chapter for Chen. After delivering a terrific performance in the men’s short program for the team event, Chen spoke about his change in mentality.
“Honestly, I’m just here to have fun, and I was able to do that,” Chen told NBC. “So I’m really happy.”
The Olympian delivered again during the men’s individual short program. He landed his quad lutz, triple toe combination cleanly.
Chen fist-pumped in celebration after he finished his short program. Weir noted that his “reaction said it all.”
“That performance was a stunner,” Weir said on live television after Chen finished. “He did everything he needed to do.”
The judges gave Chen a 113.97, the highest score ever seen in men’s figure skating short program.
In an interview during the NBC broadcast, Chen said he was “elated.”
“Last Olympics, both short programs didn’t go the way I wanted and to finally get the opportunity to skate the programs the way that I wanted — it feels really great,” he said. “It means a lot.”
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