By Eileen Wang
On Day 6 of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, Nathan Chen successfully landed 5 quads to win his first Olympic gold medal, proving to the world that he is the Quad King of men’s figure skating.
Even at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, he seemed to have an uncanny knack for pulling off quad jumps. At the young age of 18, he made history by becoming the first skater to ever land a quad flip at the Olympics. Furthermore, he was also the first man to land 6 quad jumps (one more than the five in his 2022 Olympics routine) in the free skate competition, making Olympic history once more.
However, although he made Olympic history at his first Winter Olympics, Nathan Chen also had a less than stellar performance during the short program section of the individual event, landing him in 17th place leading up to the free skate section. During his free skate routine, he was able to successfully perform a total of 6 quad
jumps, placing first in the free skate competition. With his combined scores from both the short program and free skate competitions, he vaulted to 5th place overall.
Disappointed with his short program performance and results, Nathan Chen became more motivated to prove himself worthy of Olympic Gold, setting out on a redemption quest for the next four years. His hard work and determination paid off, as he was able to retain the number one ranking in men’s figure skating from 2018 to 2022, winning 3 World Championship titles in 2018, 2019, and 2021 along the way. In addition, he became the first and only skater to have ever landed five different types of quads in competition; this includes the toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, and Lutz jumps. Nathan Chen is also the only skater to ever land 5 quads in one free skate program and an incredible amount of 7 quad flips in competition, cementing his status as the Quad King.
Finally, on February 8th, 2022, the moment of redemption that Nathan Chen had been waiting for since the 2018 Winter Olympics was finally here. For his short program, he opened up with a difficult quad flip and nailed it, making it clear to everyone watching that he was determined to not let a repeat of his 2018 short program happen again in 2022. This time, he smoothly and impeccably made his way through his short program, showcasing a spectacular performance of his versatile skills, talent, and artistry, as well as getting his redemption. Additionally, his routine was well received by the judges, who awarded him an unprecedented score of 113.97, breaking the world record of 111.82 points that was set by legendary Japanese skater, Yuzuru Hanyu, in 2020. A day later, Nathan Chen would go on to win the biggest competition of his life yet, flawlessly performing a series of difficult quad jumps to the music of Elton John to capture the Olympic gold medal in the Men’s Singles Figuring Skating event. His total score of 332.60 was more than 20 points higher than the silver medalist from Japan, Yuma Kagiyama, and Shoma Uno, also representing Japan, who was the bronze medalist.
With this satisfying turn of events for Nathan Chen at his second Olympic Games, he can finally be rest assured that he has successfully completed his redemption mission. Although his first Olympic Games weren’t as perfect as he had hoped for, he came back as strong as ever in his second Winter Olympics. Not only did he clench the title that eluded him the first time, he also inspired young and old alike to show perseverance and work hard towards their goals and aspirations, demonstrating the true spirit of the Olympic Games.
