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Post by Admin on Feb 19, 2017 21:20:44 GMT
American Nathan Chen took the men's title at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Sunday, cementing his status as one of the sport's rising stars and a skater to watch at next year's Winter Olympics. Having won the short programme on Friday, Chen claimed the overall title despite placing second behind Japan's Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu in the free skate at Gangneung Ice Arena in South Korea. Skating to the music of "The Polovtsian Dances", 17-year-old Chen landed five quadruple jumps. His total score of 307.46 was enough to see off Hanyu and win his debut Four Continents competition. "This feels great, honestly. This is the first championship event that I´ve won. I had a good lead coming out of the short programme which really benefited me in the long programme," Chen said.
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Post by Admin on Feb 21, 2017 21:16:21 GMT
Here’s a figure skating rarity: An American man, Nathan Chen, is pushing the envelope on jumps with an assortment of quads that will have the rest of the world’s top skaters needing to expand their repertoires. Quadruple jumps rarely have been a staple of U.S. men’s programs. While Russian, Japanese and Chinese skaters were loading up on the four-rotation point grabbers, the top Americans generally stuck to triples and artistry. Evan Lysacek won the 2010 Olympic gold medal with a brilliantly choreographed and versatile free skate that was devoid of quads. Evgeny Plushenko, the 2006 Olympic champion, pointed that out after finishing second to Lysacek. Now comes Chen, 17, whose victory at Four Continents over the weekend was a huge step up from his win at nationals in January. In beating Sochi gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu, three-time world winner Patrick Chan and Chinese jumping jack Jin Boyang, Chen established himself as a force on the international scene. He did so in Pyeonchang, South Korea, on the 2018 Olympic arena ice. He did so with a stunning program that included five quads; some American men would be happy to land that many in a season.
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Post by Admin on Feb 24, 2017 21:13:08 GMT
USA’s Nathan Chen skated to victory in the Men’s event. Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan moved up from third to claim the silver and Shoma Uno, also of Japan, earned the bronze. Performing to “Polovtsian Dances”, Chen pulled off five quads – quad Lutz-triple toe, quad flip, quad toe, quad toe-double teo and a quad Salchow – as well as a triple Lutz, but he wobbled on one triple Axel and stepped out on the second. The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final silver medallist earned a level four for his spins and footwork and set a new personal best of 204.34 points. The 17-year-old racked up 307.46 points overall to win the title in his debut at the Four Continents Championships. Chen became the first skater to land five quads in an international competition. “This feels great, honestly. This is the first championship event that I’ve won. I had a good lead coming out of the short program, which really benefitted me in the long program. I tried five quads today and I landed three of the five solidly. The other two were a little shaky, so that’s something that I need to improve on for Worlds. It’s great to be at the Olympic venue and I really enjoyed my time here”, the U.S. Champion shared. Hanyu, who stood in third following the Short Program, put out a strong performance to “Hope and Legacy” by Joe Hisaishi, hitting a quad loop, Salchow and two quad toes as well as two triple Axels. The only glitch came when he doubled a planned quad Salchow. The 2014 Olympic Champion picked up a seasons best with 206.67 points and won the Free Skating portion. Overall he moved up to second at 303.71 points. “I didn’t feel so much pressure. I was trying to feel relaxed and to enjoy the performance I have practiced for so much. I’m very excited about the score, I showed what I had practiced and I am satisfied with what I did. I will practice my quads more to make them perfect and I’d like to be more confident in the next competition”, the two-time and reigning World silver medalist commented. Uno opened his Argentine Tango program with a quad loop and followed up with a quad flip, quad toe-double toe as well as two triples. However, the fell on both triple Axels and the first quad toe was wobbly. The 2015 World Junior Champion scored 187.77 points and totaled 288.05 points to take his first senior ISU Championship medal. “In the first half of the program I was happy to land the quad loop. I didn’t have a good consistency in practice for the jump, and I think my desire to land this jump so badly made it happen. But I missed the two triple Axels, and those are jumps I know how to land”, the 19-year-old said.
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Post by Admin on Feb 28, 2017 21:03:50 GMT
More than 100 top international skaters are competing in the event, seen as a preview of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. It concludes Sunday. Top U.S. contenders going into the event were Mirai Nagasu, Mariah Bell, Nathan Chen, pairs skaters Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim, and dancers Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates. This year’s short dance rules require that the pairs incorporate the rhythm of blues plus swing and/or hip-hop.
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