BEIJING — Nathan Chen completed his redemption story at Beijing. The 22-year-old won gold in the men's figure skating program against a competitive field of skaters Thursday.
As he took the ice, with a slight grin, Chen looked confident and exuded joy as he skated to a remix of Rocket Man by Elton John. His performance gained a standing ovation by team officials and other Olympic athletes sitting in the stadium.
His fifth place finish in this event at the Pyeongchang Olympics was a shadow following Chen as he headed to Beijing. But since hitting the ice at the 2022 Winter Games, Chen showed he overcame those demons and the immense pressure facing him this week — and then some.
Chen surpassed the field with a score of 218.63 points, giving him a total of 332.60 after his short program from earlier in the week. That's 22.55 points ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, who received a total score of 310.05. Shoma Uno of Japan won bronze with 293.00.
Two-time defending gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu, also of Japan, placed fourth at 283.21 after falling multiple times during his routine.
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