Olympic Figure Skating Results 2022: Nathan Chen Sets World Record in Short Program

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Nathan Chen took the first step toward further cementing his status as the king of the figure skating world.

Chen’s 113.97 score in Monday’s men’s short program paced the field at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and put the American in position to clinch a gold medal in Wednesday’s free skate.

As if that wasn’t enough, he set the record for the highest score in the history of the men’s short program.

Here is a look at the top of the leaderboard, which can be found in full on the Olympics’ official website. The top 24 skaters advance to the free skate.

1. Nathan Chen, United States: 113.97
2. Yuma Kagiyama, Japan: 108.12
3. Shoma Uno, Japan: 105.90

This is the second figure skating competition of the Games after the Russian Olympic Committee won gold, the United States won silver and Japan won bronze at the team event. That team event provided something of a preview for the men’s competition since two of the eight segments were a men’s singles short program and a men’s singles free program.

Chen established himself as the headliner for men’s figure skating at these Olympics by dazzling in the short program of the team competition and earning the Americans 10 points with a win. Meanwhile, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama announced himself as a contender with a victory in the free program.

Despite Kagiyama’s impressive showing, the biggest storyline coming into Monday’s event was the battle between Chen and Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu.

After all, Chen is the three-time defending world champion, while Hanyu is the two-time defending Olympic champion.

Chen was also looking to put a disappointing showing in the short program from the 2018 Games further in the rearview mirror with a noteworthy performance on Monday.

They both had to demonstrate some patience, though, as two of the final 10 skaters in a field that got smaller before the competition started when American Vincent Zhou announced on Instagram he withdrew because he tested positive for COVID-19.

Fellow contenders in Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, who finished in second behind Chen in the team event short program, were also in the final 10 skaters, which gave the start of the event an anticlimactic feeling.

Still, France’s Adam Siao Him Fa likely earned some new fans by skating to the Star Wars score, complete with Darth Vader’s famed breathing and lightsaber sound effects shortly before the ROC’s Evgeni Semenenko set the bar for the big names to pursue.

Hanyu was shockingly unable to clear that bar thanks to a critical mistake when he bailed on his first jump attempt of the Games, which gave Chen a massive advantage in the head-to-head before he even stepped on the ice.