Chen Takes Sixth Consecutive U.S. Title
(10 January 2022) Nathan Chen, the three-time World champion,
added another U.S. title to his extraordinary skating resume at the
U.S. Championships at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Sunday,
where he triumphantly claimed the U.S. crown for the sixth
consecutive time due to his electric free skate to an Elton John
medley earning a 212.62 for a 328.01 total score.
Right from the moment he took the ice, Chen,
wearing black and a shirt adorned with orange, red and green flame
embellishments, took command of the entire Bridgestone Arena,
skating with his characteristic presence, execution and
delivery, much to the delight of everyone.
The accomplished and talented Salt Lake City
native wowed the crowd with a soaring quad flip-double toe loop,
quad Salchow, quad Lutz, quad toe-half loop-quad flip, triple Axel
and triple toe loop, all for which he was awarded plus four and plus
five grade of execution marks from the nine-member judging panel.
Chen did falter on the landing of a triple
flip, however, which turned out to only be a momentary blip from
which he instantly recovered.
Chen, who is enrolled at Yale University and
plans to study there full time again in the fall of 2022 after
taking some time off due to his preparation for the upcoming Olympic
Games, also performed high-energy spins with clean lines and
extension as well as some terrific footwork.
At the conclusion of Chen’s performance, the
crowd also gave him a thunderous standing ovation.
“I had a lot of fun and the crowd was amazing,”
said Chen. “It was great to be here in Nashville and perform in
front of people.”
Chen also gave props to his longtime coach,
Rafael Arutyunyan, for helping him to have achieved this point in
his skating career.
“A lot of the success I’ve had is credited to
him,” said Chen, who has been skating with Arutyunyan since age 13.
“I can’t do this all by myself and I’ve had really great people in
my life and career.”
Ilia Malinin, the 2019 U.S. Novice
bronze medalist, soared right into the center of the sport’s
celebrity spotlight with a stellar second-place finish for his
superb free skate to Autograf’s ‘Nobody Knows’ and ‘Golden Age’ by
Woodkid.
In his program, Malinin knocked out four
spectacular quads along with five solid triples (through the Axel)
with attack, command and textbook-like air positions that have been
described as some of the finest in the sport by coaches and other
skating insiders.
Malinin, who trains with his mother, Tatiana
Malinina, a former Olympian and Roman Skorniakov in Reston, Virginia
and also Rafael Arutyunyan in Lakewood, California, scored a 199.02
for this program to generate a hefty 302.48 total.
From the second Malinin began his program, he
electrified the crowd as he ticked off his library of
ultra-difficult of jumps and spins with the same ease, ownership and
skill as that of a premiere seasoned global skater.
For Malinin, being at this U.S. Championships
was a victory unto itself while having wound up on the podium was a
wonderful and unexpected bonus to that.
“I’m really grateful for my skate today,” said
Malinin. “I’m grateful to be here with all of these top athletes.”
Malinin said he was very happy with his
performance.
“I was surprised at how it all came together
and I’m really excited for this moment,” said Malinin. “It
definitely gives me a lot of motivation to keep doing my best and to
improve in the future.”
Vincent Zhou, the 2019 World bronze medalist,
scored his fourth U.S. Championship medal at this event, claiming
bronze with a 290.16 total score.
Zhou, who was second in the short, put the
proverbial pedal to the metal with a compelling program to the music
from the ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ soundtrack by Tan Dun for
which he was awarded a 177.38, the fourth highest in this portion of
the competition.
In his program, Zhou reeled off a stellar quad
flip, quad Salchow, triple Axel and several other jumps for which he
earned a majority of plus-four grade of execution marks.
Zhou did however, miss two quad Lutzes and
touched down on the landing of a quad toe loop that caused him to
lose some critical points.
Still, Zhou’s stellar work validated his
headliner status at this event, as the crowd roared for him
throughout his performance and gave him a standing ovation.
“Nashville has been very kind to all of us
athletes,” said Zhou. “I’m just very grateful to be here and have
the opportunity to make the Olympic team.”
Jason Brown, the 2015 U.S. Champion, was fourth
with the third-best free skate of the event.
His superb ‘Schindler’s List’ program featured
such notable elements as big triple Axels, soaring triple flips and
triple Lutzes and his signature spins, for
which he earned high grade of execution marks.
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