San Jose, Calif. • Nothing can replicate the drama and intrigue of Olympic figure skating.
As a committee toiled over which three male skaters to send to Pyeonchang, South Korea, in a month, there was absolutely zero drama about who’d be the headliner, and definitely some intrigue about who’d join him. That much was cemented Sunday morning when the 2018 U.S. figure skating squad was revealed.
Atop the list: Who else?
Nathan Chen, the 18-year-old from Salt Lake City, who will enter the Olympics as America’s top shot at a medal on the ice, and that medal — based on Chen’s form the past few months — could very well end up being gold. Chen left no doubt this weekend at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, winning in commanding fashion, nearly a combined 41 points away from the next-closest finisher.
“It was very clear he needed to be No. 1 on the team,” said U.S. Figure Skating president Sam Auxier.
The reigning back-to-back U.S. title winner will be joined in South Korea by Adam Rippon, the 28-year-old figure skating vet, who made his first Olympic team. Also headed to the 2018 Games is 17-year-old Vincent Zhou, who finished with the bronze medal Saturday night. Rippon, who finished fourth, made the team ahead of second-place overall finisher Ross Miner.
Rippon, who won the 2016 U.S. title, qualified due to stronger qualifying criteria. He won silver at both Grand Prix Series events this season. He placed fifth overall at his second-straight Grand Prix Final.
That intrigue has been settled. And Chen is the lead contender.
Born and raised in Salt Lake before relocating to Southern California at the age of 12 to train full-time with coach Rafael Arutunian, Chen’s recent track record entering Pyeongchang is as accomplished as any other skater in the world: Two national championship crowns, two Grand Prix wins as well as a victory in the Grand Prix final. Both Chen and Rippon train under Arutunian and have the last six years.
“I remember watching Nathan skate for the first time and thinking, ‘Oh, damn, I’ll be retired by the time he’s a senior,’” Rippon joked.
If this weekend was any indication of how he might fare at the Olympics, Chen said he can still improve and get back to peak fitness and performance level he was at the start of last year, when he had a record-setting U.S. championships performance in Kansas City, Mo.
“I definitely set a big bar for myself last year,” he said. “I still have a way to go to do what I was able to do last year.”
Chen was saddled with an illness before this week that kept him out of full-time training for nearly two weeks. He declined to go into specifics, but said he finally felt like his self during the competitions. Chen was able to unleash his free skate program that features a historic five quad attempts — the first time he was able to do so this season. He nitpicked his short program Thursday, saying there were plenty of mistakes, before adding that there is some mishaps needing addressing in his free skate too, specifically on his triple axel.
“Mistakes like that are costly,” he said, “so those are the first things to be addressed.”
Chen admitted Sunday that he hadn’t gotten much sleep. He knew his spot was guaranteed, but it was there as he tried to shut his eyes that it started to sink in.
“It’s crazy how fast time flies and how things have progressed,” he said, “and I’m super blessed to have the opportunity to compete at these events and deserve an Olympic spot in 2018.”
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