Olympic figure skating has a new king, while Japanese figure skating has a rising star — even as its brightest fell short of his historic target.
American Nathan Chen captured gold in the men’s singles competition at the Beijing Olympics on Thursday, filling the empty space in his medal cabinet that has haunted him since 2018.
The 22-year-old Yale University student, who set a world record in Tuesday’s short program, again showed why he is widely considered to be the best figure skater in the world with a dazzling program set to the “Rocket Man” soundtrack that had the additional backing track of clapping from the masked and physically distanced crowd.