Team event up 1st as Olympic figure skating begins

BEIJING (AP) — The team competition in Olympic figure skating has always been a three-team scramble for the podium.

There's the Russians, who won gold at the event's 2014 debut in Sochi and silver in Pyeongchang. There's the Canadians, who took silver before finding gold four years later. And there's the Americans, who have taken bronze each time.

There could be a new player in the mix when competition begins Friday in Beijing, though. After back-to-back fifth-place finishes, the Japanese bring their strongest bunch yet to the Olympics, and could knock off the podium a Canadian team that no longer has retired Patrick Chan or ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to pile up the points.

As for the Americans? Perhaps they can finally move up a step or two on the podium.

“It's important any time you compete,” said Nathan Chen, who performed his short program for the U.S. team in Pyeongchang and finished a lackluster fourth in it. “I'm going to try to do the best I can. I know the rest of us will, too.”

Chen is among the favorites to win individual gold in Beijing, and the team event should give him a competitive warmup. He doesn't know whether he will skate his short program, free skate or both for the team — that decision will be made by Team USA shortly before competition — but he is a lock to compete at least once.

The order of events changed from Pyeongchang, when pairs followed the team event, and that means Chen and the rest of the men will be up next week. Pairs got the misfortune of heading to the back of the Olympic program, meaning they won't be on the ice again until Feb. 18 — for some, a full two weeks after their first taste of competition.

“We honestly got the best end of the draw,” Chen said after his