KANSAS CITY, Mo. — At 17 years old Nathan Chen is the youngest U.S.men’s Figure Skating champion in five decades, and he’s also the first ever figure skater to land five quadruple jumps in a single program.
Chen, who was born in Salt Lake City and later moved to California, became a national champion this weekend after earning record high scores of 106.39 in the short program and a 212.08 in his free skate, according to Team USA.
“It was amazing,” Chen said of landing five quads. “That’s something I’ve been training for, something that I’ve been working towards. I didn’t want to put it out there just yet ‘cause it’s been not so consistent in practice, but it’s something that I’m really proud about.”
Chen is the youngest U.S. men’s champion since 1966, and he posted an overall score of 318.47.
Vincent Zhou, 16, took second place with an overall score of 263.03, and Jason Brown, who competed in the Olympics in 2014, came in third with a 254.23 overall.
Visit Team USA for more on the competition and reactions from all three skaters.
