Nathan Chen says poor short program due to mental issue

Katie Uhlaender is on her fourth Olympic team in skeleton. Ice dancing is the only figure skating event that allows music with vocals. Nathan Chen of the USA was fourth, again after an imperfect skate.

It was simply a 40-minute practice session on the rink designated for that objective, with a low ceiling and fluorescent lights, tucked just below the Gangneum Ice Arena, where Chen and Rippon will make their Olympic debuts later this week in the team event. Of course, Chen is very young; he is only 18. In addition to his national success, Chen also has won 13 worldwide titles since 2009. It is one of the most hard sports because of how it is judged and thus, requires the skaters to maintain an inhuman elegance while performing incredibly hard feats. The short dance lasts about three minutes, and the free dance lasts about four minutes.

Chen’s artistry is not lacking either. Transitions, what the skater is doing between technical elements. Aided by a background in ballet and gymnastics, Chen has the unique ability to excel in both facets of the competition, which makes him almost unbeatable.

The men’s and women’s single competitions are pretty easy to distinguish from each other, as they feature one skater competing alone. Hockey Hall of Famer Cammi Granato told her brother such bonding was key in a short global tournament. This season, everything changed.

Many called for an investigation after she won and defeated the runaway favorite, South Korea’s Yuna Kim. The bronze medalist at the grand prix final fell twice to finish eighth among the 10 skaters.

This is the latest of Branko’s articles on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Only America’s Apolo Ohno can match that tally of eight, although his haul includes just two golds.

The speed skaters pay a lot of attention to reducing air pressure and a lot of time and money is spent developing fabrics, cuts and seams that will reduce drag.

Chen received a score of 80.61 points, which is one of his worst ever in the short program.

Joining Nathan Chen on the men’s team is fellow teenager Vincent Zhou. Adam Rippon, by contrast, enlisted Arutyunyan’s help at 22, wondering whether his best results were behind him as he struggled to reach the podium after winning back-to-back junior world championships as a teenager.

Shortly after Chen’s meltdown the International Olympic Committee’s handling of the Russian doping controversy took center ice. Skating events normally take place in the afternoon or evening. Nagasu is the elder stateswoman of the group.

Florence Syers won silver in the men’s competition in 1903 at the London World Championships, when there was no women’s competition.

There are few things hockey players enjoy more than chirping at each other, so naturally much of the conversation came with sarcasm and revolved around ribbing each other.

The start time to accommodate NBC’s prime time broadcast schedule in the US likely kept fans away as well.

Bradie Tennell was the surprise victor of the US figure skating championships in January and will make her first Olympic appearance.

After 2014 Nagasu earned two more global titles and placed fourth at the 2015 and 2016 Nationals. The United States sits in second spot with 14 points, with Japan and the Russians tied at 13 points.

The 2018 Winter Olympics officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, but some athletes have been competing since Wednesday.

Between 2005 and 2009, Rippon earned nine national and worldwide titles as a junior skater.

Thirty three hold or have held leadership positions in the national skating federations for their countries and another is an Italian judge who was sanctioned for peeking at another judge’s scores in 2010. Tennell, 19, finished first in the 2018 USA championships, with Nagasu, 24, and Chen, 18, taking second and third respectively.

Virtue and Moir, who skate the ice dance portion of the team event Sunday, were all smiles as they led Canada’s red-clad contingent into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, one of 92 nations to enter the chilly 35,000-seat facility on a blustery night where temperatures dipped to -8 C with the wind chill.

Despite some stumbles Friday in the Olympic figure skating event, the US finds themselves in good shape after the first day of the event.

Even though this event turns an individual sport into a team affair, the Knierims didn’t feel any added pressure when they saw Chen’s performance while riding the bus to the rink. Tennell, Nagasu and Karen Chen will follow in the women’s on February 20 and 22.