Rocket Man blasts off

BEIJING • Nathan Chen never thought he would be able to make it this far as he won Olympic figure skating gold, as defending champion Yuzuru Hanyu fell twice and admitted "it feels like everything has gone wrong".

The American three-time world champion finally claimed the only major prize that had eluded him, with his overall score of 332.60 more than 20 points ahead of his nearest challenger Yuma Kagiyama (310.05) of Japan.

Shoma Uno took bronze (293.00) while Japanese teammate Hanyu (283.21), who gold in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018, failed in his quest to match the late Gillis Grafstrom's feat of three consecutive Olympic golds (1920, 1924, 1928) in men's figure skating.

It was a spectacular redemption for Chen - wearing a Vera Wang-designed orange and purple top decorated with stars in space in a nod to his medley of Elton John songs, which included Rocket Man - who banished any memories of Pyeongchang, where he finished fifth after a meltdown.

"I never really thought that I'd be able to make it this far in my career," said the 22-year-old.

"I'd always, of course, dreamt about making the Olympics and winning the Olympics, but I was like... I don't know if I can make that happen. I haven't really had time to process fully, but it's amazing so far."

Chen lived up to his nickname "Quad King" in a routine in which he landed five quadruple jumps to rapturous cheers from the crowd at the Capital Indoor Stadium. After his last jump - which he said he had "almost tripped on" - he broke into a hip-hop-like dance choreography, clearly enjoying himself.

"This programme, no matter what, is always fun for me to skate," he said. As the music died, he dropped his head back in relief.

With the victory, Chen shouted loudly and clearly to all at the Beijing Games - and the world - that he has been the best skater around for more than three years and that nothing has changed.

He came into yesterday's free skate with confidence after winning the short programme with authority, nearly six points clear of nearest rival Kagiyama (108.12).

He scored 113.97 points, a world record, for skills that included impeccable quadruple jumps and gyroscope-fast spins.

Even before the free skate, Hanyu, one of Chen's main rivals, was far behind him. In the short programme, the 27-year-old aborted his first jump, later claiming he hit a hole in the ice, and the zero score he received for the skill seriously hurt his medal chances.

He could not make up the lost points in the free programme, falling twice, including during his attempt at the quadruple axel, a jump never landed in competition.

"It wasn't fun at all," Hanyu said of his Olympic experience, describing it as painful and difficult.

"Honestly, it feels like everything has gone wrong this time around, but I did my best."

Asked about Chen's performance, Hanyu said: "It was so great, it was so cool... I want to say congratulations to him."

Chen said it had been "an honour to be able to share the ice with Hanyu" over the years.

"Again, watching him when I was a kid, I never even dreamed that I would be able to have the opportunity to even skate with him.

"It's just been a really great honour and he's, in my opinion, the greatest skater ever."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES