If you have been following the figure skating program at the Beijing Winter Games, you would have seen the high standards and calibre of the figure skaters. And the good thing about these high standards is that majority of those reaching these heights are of some type of Asian background.
The men’s short program has been dominated by the Japanese : Yuzuru Hanyu – who is a 2 time Winter Olympics champion. Today at the qualifications the performances were amazing. Hanyu recorded a 95.15 which places him 8 ( the top 24 qualifies for the finals), his fellow compatriots – 18 year old Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno placed 2nd and 3rd in the qualifications respectively.
But the entire event was owned by America’s Nathan Chen, who put on a flawless and highly technical routine, hence why his score is now the world record for the men’s short program. He scored 113.97 points – I know wow!
Here is what Chen told the NBC broadcast of the winter games, absolutely happy with his performance (via ESPN):
“I was elated. Last Olympics, both short programs didn’t go the way I wanted and to finally get the opportunity to skate the programs the way that I wanted — it feels really great. It means a lot.”
Who will win Gold? Well you will have to wait till Thursday to find out!
Images via Twitter