Winter Olympics: Nathan Chen exorcises demons to win elusive figure skating gold

It was billed as the great Olympic showdown but, in the end, high-flying student and higher-flying skater Nathan Chen was simply in a class of his own.

It wasn’t flawless but it got pretty close, Chen landing all five of his quad jumps to become the first American in 12 years to claim Olympic men’s figure skating gold.

The lyrics to Elton John’s Rocket Man - ‘In fact it’s cold as hell’ - seem rather appropriate for frigid Beijing, but Chen lit the touch paper on a red-hot performance packed with his trademark soaring aerial prowess to blow away his rivals and exorcise the demons from four years ago, when he tearfully failed to win a medal in PyeongChang.

This men’s free skate was meant to pitch the three-time world champion into battle with Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu, seeking a third consecutive Olympic title and skating immortality, with his attempt to nail an elusive quad axel, the hardest jump on ice.

Hanyu’s stuttering short program ruled him out of gold medal contention, though he dragged himself up to fourth with his free skate, getting closer than he’s ever done before to nailing that quad axel in competition - though that peak remains unconquered, for now.

“I think I’m pushing the boundaries,” said Hanyu, who arguably wanted the jump as much as he wanted the medal, with his exploits broadcast live on discovery+, Eurosport and Eurosport app.

“No matter how hard, no matter how unimaginable, I want to push a little bit more for those who have expectations in me. I failed to realise my dream of completing it in this Olympics, but I have worked really hard for it, so I’m proud.”

All of which left Chen largely in a battle with himself, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Ono taking silver and bronze as the nation claimed three