Nathan Chen is first Asian American male figure skater to win Olympic gold after dominant performance

Nathan Chen’s redemption arc has reached its climax as the American figure skater finally fulfilled his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal.

Chen, 22, finished the men’s singles event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday with a score of 218.63 in the free skate and an overall score of 332.60. His scores on Wednesday bested those of his rival at the Olympics, Japan’s “Ice Prince” and two-time defending gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu, according to ABC News.

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Hanyu placed fourth with an overall score of 283.21. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama took home silver with a score of 310.05, and Shoma Uno, also from Japan, took home bronze with a score of 293.

Aside from winning gold and beating his rival, Chen also set a new world record for his run in the short program. With a combination move consisting of a quad flip, triple axel and quad lutz-triple toe loop, Chen shattered Hanyu’s record score of 111.82 with a score of 113.97, NBC Olympics reported.

“Every opportunity that I get at competitions is one I should be grateful for, especially the Olympics – that’s a completely different story,” Chen told NBC.

Chen made history by becoming the first American to win a gold medal in an individual figure skating program since Evan Lysacek in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, The Washington Post reported. He is now the first Asian American male athlete to win a gold medal in figure skating.

Featured Image via Getty

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