Nathan Chen is the Bode Miller (2006 Olympics) of the 2018 Olympics.
I am sure Mr. Chen appreciates the pic by pic analysis of his mistakes.
Please don't take this the wrong way but the figure skaters anointed by NYT, Time Magazine, Vera Wang just can't live up to the hype. Maybe it's better to enjoy the fame and endorsement deals after the Olympics. Nevertheless, medal or not, they're incredible athletes, more amazing than most of us can ever be. Good luck on the free skate!
He choked, plain and simple. Twice now. Shiffrin choked as well in the slalom. It happens at times, even to the best athletes in the world. They are of course still human. Hopefully Shiffrin bounces back in her other races, which will be tougher for her. For Chen, he's going to have to regroup somehow, because redemption is four years away...
3
Nerves at the Olympics for even the leading athletes are nothing new, especially for figure skaters. Also, Nathan Chen prospered this year in the absence of the sport's leaders, Hanyu and Fernandez. They are back in charge, apparently healthy, and the mistakes Chen has been making all year are going to hurt more now. But, lucky for him, he is only 18, and this Olympics is just his first act on the world stage. There is a very bright future ahead for him; this unfortunate experience (so far) will only serve to toughen and prepare him for that.
4
So, we have the technology to freeze-frame an analyze his performance in previously unthinkable detail. But what really is the journalistic benefit of picking apart the work of a young man doing something that is insanely difficult?? We should celebrate him for his achievement and acknowledge the other talented non-USA skaters. Watching the media (NBC included) either cruelly shred or over-glorify individual performances in the mistaken idea that it creates drama and higher ratings is so disheartening and is souring so many people on the Olympics.
8
I wish I could just stand "up" on ice skates. The pressure these young athletes have on them- mentally and physically- is enormous. A life-time (such as it is) devoted to practice-practice-competition-competition must take its toll. Nathan Chen is still one of the best. He will shine again. God Speed.
5
According to NBC Sports, "The Gold Medal is Nathan Chen's to loose!" The build-up (hype) has been relentless. (Chen's biographical profile was aired in place of Israeli skater Alexei Bychenko who skated into second place.) Now, that Chen has fallen apart the programmed promotional announcements continue unabated as if Chen were still in the running. The campaign is so entrenched NBC appears unable to pull the plug. The irony is that Chen's collapse has also been NBC's.
3
He is still the U.S champion, and that is not chopped liver, people. Nathan is young, and will learn from his experiences. I, and many others, have derived great enjoyment from his many fine performances. I hope he has a great future, on and off the ice.
10
I know people are finding the commentary of Weir and Lipinski very entertaining, but I can't help but wonder how Chen felt after hearing their comments about his performance in the team program ("abysmal; disastrous; worst program I've seen him do"). Getting shredded like that by two celebrity skaters has got to affect your confidence.
8
Too much stress for an eighteen year old and skating after the Japan's great skater, he felt he had to be even better. Nathan's Olympic is 2022. Zhou will be around too if not for college.
1
Pretty simple. Chen choked.
Very unfortunate. Perhaps the great kid needs a little different coaching, such as sports psychology? Take a page from the Japanese male figure skaters. How come they were able to transcend the pressures? Chen performed with astounding graceful, though, especially considering his youth.
The same goes for Zhou.
3
Chen may well perform better now that he has nothing to lose.
8
He needs to suck it up and work like crazy to get himself into the final top 10 so we are able to send 2 make singles skaters to the next winter Olympics in 2018. Get over yourself, Chen.
6
Unhelpful comment, and unkind. Nathan Chen is 18 years old - a kid, basically - and this is his first Olympics. Many young athletes falter under the weight of Olympic pressure and expectations. I hope he skates a clean long program; I suspect he'll be more composed in 4 years.
9
@Jan: I think you need to take your own advice!
5
You know, he's only a kid, like he can't even buy a beer.
1
Nathan Chen seems to be an enormously talented young man, and quite mature for his years, at least from what I've seen in various interviews over the past weeks. Sadly, for whatever reason, his skating did not/can not come together and this will not be "his" Olympics. And I feel sorry for his disappointment.
But what I'm really sorry about is for all of us viewers, and the miserable, nationalistic, Americans-only focus of NBC and its Olympic broadcasts. I'm grateful to the NY Times for linking to its story on the Men's Short Program, which focused on the REAL story of the men's skate yesterday: the spectacular performances of two Japanese men [Hanryu #1 and Uno #3] and Javi Rodriguez of Spain [#2].
NBC, to its discredit (as it has done repeatedly in broadcasting Olympics for as long as I can remember, dating back to the '96 Atlanta summer Olympics, chooses to focus its coverage exclusively on the American athletes, even though they seem like nice people, but are in fact, also-rans. So this morning on Today, we heard gushy speculation about our men's skating team, accompanied by footage [What could POSSIBLY have happened to Nathan?!!!].....while ignoring the remarkable performances turned in by the top 3. I wish NBC would get it through its head that people watch the Olympics to watch the best athletes in the world. If they happen to be Americans, great, all the more fun. But NBC needs to remember that other nations compete besides the USA.
53
Federer and Nadal have been enormously popular in America, so I don't understand why NBC still can't realize that Americans can appreciate sports genius when it isn't competing under the stars and stripes.
7
NBC-SN ran the entire men's singles program with focus, full commentary, and an interview with the Japanese skater(s), as well as the Spanish skater, the Chinese skater, and the OAR skaters.
2
Andy - while I do not disagree with your assessment, at least Americans are able to watch the Olympics in comparison to North Korea where the viewing of their own Olympic Athletes in these games is banned and prohibited from its own citizens. Granted, there will always a bias in any kind of reporting, whether it be sports related, politically related or everything in between. I am truly grateful and thankful to have the privilege and ability to watch Team USA AND all other Olympians from around the globe compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
1
There has been a lot of chatter about Olympic athletes skewing to the older. How many times have we heard about the "tragic, heartbreaking" loss that an athlete suffered in Torino or Sochi as an 17 or 18 year old.
Perhaps the significant pressure to achieve "higher, faster, better" needs to be tempered with a good dose of experience.
8
watching figure skating gives me anxiety. with old age, I cannot deal with anxiety! too many scary jumps. would rather watch Disney on Ice. unfortunate for Nathan Chen but I think his parents have the right idea: if skating doesn't work out, keep pursuing a medical degree so you're not burnt out at the ripe age of 25. It's only skating, the world is still turning.
8
Oh sure, let's make the guy feel EVEN WORSE than he must already feel. Way to go, NYT. Put it on the front page with a freeze-frame shot replaying the precise instant when his Olympic Gold dream was shattered. Sells papers. Gains clicks. Shame on you! This is clearly an incredibly talented individual who has already accomplished a great deal. He deserves cheers, not jeers.
36
Let's be brutally honest. I am not sure where you get the impression that this young guy is capable of mounting a challenge for a gold. He doesn't have the artistry or technical ability to match the top contenders, even if he landed those jumps. Being honest about it would be start.
16
So we've gone from hailing him as the "quad king who is sure to win gold" to this very dry, over-the-top, surgical breakdown of his failure to do so. I guess there is merit in this type of article for folks who need to see a literal diagram of someone failing to land jumps, but I find it distasteful. I agree with other posts here that this athlete (among others) was subjected to too much hype and expectations.
21
The coverage of these athletes isn’t helping. There is already pressure on these folk to win. The constant ballyhooing probably isn’t helping. I found the coverage of Shiffren intrusive. I don’t need to know that she vomited before her run. I certainly don’t need to hear about it every time she shows up on the screen. She stated she felt like she might have a virus yet the commentators insisted that it was nerves. I wonder if part of the pressure is from the companies that sell equipment. Every time you see an athlete you also get a view of the logo.
Presenting a biography of the Olympic athletes does add to the drama of the sport. The experience would be better if we got more dialogue about the sport. Less emphasis on the reality show aspect of the competetors and more on how slalom, or skeleton, or short track works.
21
Or curling, which I love watching. And NBC: stop interrupting the curling games with commercials, then missing half the action after the commercial. Curling is about strategy, and we miss all of that!! I'd almost rather not see it than see broken up bits that tease but don't show the inner workings of the sport.
4
As someone who just watches Figure Skating once every four years, I find most of the skaters boring. It is all about their execution of various jumps and the other technical stuff the analysts prattle on about. Give me a skater like Adam Rippon and I will stop what I am doing and watch. Aside from skill, he has passion and personality that the majority of the others lack.
13
You would like Jason Brown. He's an excellent skater - without the quads and so he is vastly underrated - but Brown can tell a story like no other skater today on ice. A true showman and artist.
19
I agree with you Jan N from Wisconsin. I just finished watching Jason Brown on YouTube where he finished third in his short program at the 2018 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. While his technical program was lacking in comparison to the other skaters resulting in him not making it to the Olympics, his spins, his energy and a sense of him truly having a great time and enjoying skating really came through. I couldn't stop smiling during his entire program. What I enjoy more than anything is an athlete who LOVES performing their sport . . . for the pure joy and fun of it.
2
This is real pressure. Unfortunately for him, he did not measure up this time, but there is another chance in 4 years
6
Maybe not. If only Rippon manages to stay in the 10 ten in the final standings after the free skate, we will only be able to send ONE male singles skater to the 2018 winter Olympics. And it very well might NOT be Chen.
The number of entries per counrty is largely determined at the preceding year's world championships. The number of skaters the US will be allowed to send to the 2022 Olympics will be determined by final placements at the 2021 Worlds, not by placements in Pyeongchang.
2
What is this 2018 Winter Olympics you keep talking about? Is PyeongChang the warmups or something?
The U.S. right now is middling in figure skating compared to Russia, Japan, and China. Chen, with time, can help bring it back. Please get off his case. These are rookie mistakes. Please be realistic as to where the U.S. is right now. Chen will recover.
Chen’s star-crossed stumbles make Shaun White’s performance look that much more amazing. Athletes at this level all know they have the physical ability to successfully execute these maneuvers on any given day. What counts, however, is whether they can keep their heads together.
The next time we see Chen in competition post-Olympics, we’ll be hearing a lot about his sessions with a sports psychologist.
1
I have seen Nathan Chen skate in numerous competitions on television. Each of his performances were brilliant and spectacular. Clearly nerves and pressure are quickly melting his skating dreams of winning the gold. He is so talented and naturally gifted, he will learn from these mistakes, mature from the nervousness and return in 2022, taking the gold in those Winter Olympics.
34
I hope he does recover from this, but let's not put even more pressure on him with these kinds of expectations. Give him time and let him be, without Super Bowl commercials, expectations of gold, and unending backstage interviews about what went wrong.
3
I agree with your assessment. I think he has incredible potential and wish him only the very best. The last thing he or any athlete needs is added pressure from the press, media and the fans. Unrealistic expectations can ruin anyone. Thanks for your insight. Much appreciated.
2
I think his nerves got the better of him, understandably so. He was hailed as the “quad king” here, and he was going up against Hanyu from Japan, a formidable competitor. He’s young. First-time Olympian.
My gripes about figure skating:
1) The emphasis on jumps. Even if you attempt and spectacularly fail, you get more points for the flame out than you do if you scale back to a lesser jump. (How many of us are getting tired of Johnny Weir constantly harping on “points left on the table”? But I digress.) Judge the lesser jump on its own merits as if it were planned. Why risk injury if you’re unsure about any part of a complicated maneuver before you attempt it? You may not be doing your medal hopes any favors by doing so, but safety first; plus it’s more satisfying to see a successfully completed jump. This rule will force more pushing of the physical envelope and take away even more artistry (see: Rippon, Adam).
2) Move the team event to the end of the competition. Who knows how much his poor performance there got into Chen’s head. It’s enough to face the individual events without having a room full of other skaters hanging on your performance. This event should dovetail with the exposition. Frankly, I wouldn’t miss it if it were discontinued entirely.
22
really agree with your point #2!
2
As someone who has followed elite figure skating since 1972, I can say this is a common story. Janet Lynn, one of the most elegant skaters, tumbled during her olympic routine. Canada's Kurt Browning, a great skater, fell to sixth after a poor Olympics. Evan Lysacek did defeat Evegeni Plushenko without a quad, and EP whined incessantly though he dialed in a boring skate with one quad. During '80s, East German skaters defeated US skaters: Linda Fratianne (tech, not much style), Rosylyn Summers (stylish) and Deb Thomas (fell once, nerves). Michele Kwan in 2002 fell twice for a bronze. It was just painful to watch Nathan collapse, but we all wish him well. Adam Rippon is 7th going into free skate! Wow
10
Good point on the team skating event. Totally confusing, and threw off any order to the Olympics this time. What a disorienting distraction!
2
An amazing young man full of promise. Agreed with Sarah that the ability to land quads shouldn't define a competition. Despite the result we should be proud to have such a dedicate athlete representing us. Keep it up, Nathan!
21
I wish men's skating placed more emphasis on grace and artistry, and less on the ability to land a quad jump. If it did, skaters like Adam Rippon, with downright magical programs, would be rewarded, rather than those who seem to skate in straight lines from jump to jump, and often fall in the process.
29
I've commented on this so many times now. Artistry used to be a huge component of figure skating and that often skewed the results for those that are better performers. So someone like Elvis Stojko who had a less ballet-esque style but demonstrated significant athletic prowess had a much harder time winning. That led to lot of discussion on whether figure skating was even a sport if people who challenge themselves athletically are not rewarded because it was strategically advantageous to skate a technically average program in a style that judges prefer. So this is what we ended up with. There's definitely less personality in skating now but I do think the sport part of it is much stronger.
Of course this is all a moot point because there are skaters that both land quads and engage the audience. See Hanyu. I adore Rippon but he's not really technically there.
7
Chen was in fact showed lots of grace and artistry. Even compared to the Japan's Hanyu.
2
agree with you and niche!
it's the same in many competitive sports: 100+ mph fastball or nothing; home run or nothing; 140+ mph serve or nothing; hulking, rim-shattering slam dunk or nothing (except Steph Curry, who is saving that game with his artistry); head hunting in football rather than precise tackling.
It's the "Sports Center" highlight reel effect. Ruining sports.
1
Too bad, I had hoped he would medal. Perhaps he analyzed his program to death and should have depended a little more on instinct and passion. He should try to excel at something that he can do for a lifetime rather than having a brief career on ice.
If everyone followed that philosophy KB there would be no Olympics worth watching.
6
Is it not possible to be an Olympian and have a great career as something else thereafter? With this sort of dedication, I'm guessing most of these athletes go on to do quite well.
1
You get my point, I think the time for Olympics has come and gone.
1