Pyeongchang, South Korea • Nathan Chen made history, becoming the first figure skater to ever land six quad jumps in a competition.
“Definitely, there was a lot about redemption,” Chen said after his skate. “Honestly, I just wanted to leave here satisfied with what I have done and I definitely am.”
But after a disastrous short program a day earlier, Chen’s final score wasn’t enough to get him onto the podium, leaving Team Utah still searching for its first individual medal of these Olympics.
While Chen narrowly missed out, elsewhere in South Korea there was a mix of disappointment and joy, a bit of hesitation off a jump, and the hope and prayer that a brand new trick would work out. But no new hardware headed back to the Beehive state.
Utah Olympians grabbed 10 medals four years ago in Sochi. The state is home to 14 of Team USA’s 244 athletes this year. A whopping 10 percent of all Team USA’s athletes in Russia attended Westminster College in Sugar House.
However, the Beehive State has been shut out so far in these Games.
Chen’s troubles in the short program were the most heartbreaking. Few athletes arrived in Pyeongchang with greater expectations, but the Salt Lake teen has struggled mightily on Olympic ice.
Utah snowboarder Faye Gulini walked off the course Friday plenty upset, too. The snowboardcross rider crashed, going out in the quarterfinals of the competition.
“I feel pretty heartbroken right now,” she said.
But Gulini did say she hoped to continue in the sport, possibly eyeing a return to the Olympics in 2022.
“I’m not done yet, “she said. “I’m more passionate than I’ve ever been.”
Park City’s Olsen was plenty happy to make it to the super finals of her event Friday. The skier attempted a full-double full (two back flips with two twists) for the first time on snow during her final jump and finished sixth overall.
“I was really just enjoying the moment,” she said. “It was awesome out there.”
Olsen was a surprise just to make the finals.
Holladay’s Jared Goldberg finished his Olympics earlier in the day with a 24th-place finish in the men’s super-G.
“These last few days I was just having fun, enjoying it,” he said. “It was a really good experience. You can’t complain. You’re at the Olympics. … This time, compared to Sochi, I felt like I was really part of the show now and I have what it takes to be up there at the top. Now I have four more years to figure it out.”
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety failed to finish in the super-G but still was hopeful he could earn a spot on the podium on Sunday, when he finishes his Olympics in the men’s giant slalom.
“A medal would be tremendously important,” he said.
So far for team Utah, though, medals have been hard to come by.
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