The men’s figure skating competition wraps up with the free skate at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Here’s what you need to watch on TV and online.
With half of the men’s figure skating complete, it’s the men’s free skate that will help determine which countries are standing on the men’s figure skating podium in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The original field of 30 skaters narrowed to 24 after the short program, and those 24 men will compete in the free skate on Friday. The men’s figure skating medal will be awarded immediately following the free skate event.
Team USA had a mostly strong showing in the short program. Vincent Zhou (84.53, 12th place), Nathan Chen (82.27, 17th place) and Adam Rippon (87.95, 7th place) all qualified for the free skate
The battle for supremacy in the men’s short program came in the final group of skaters. Until that final group hit the ice there hadn’t been any scores north of 100, but at the end of the competition, there were four. Yuzuru Hanyu delighted the audience with an inspired performance that sent him straight to the top with a 111.68. He was followed by Spain’s Javier Fernandez (107.58), Japan’s Shoma Uno (104.17) and China’s Boyang Jin (103.32) in 4th place.
We have already seen Adam Rippon’s free skate from the team event, so this will mark the first time Nathan Chen will perform his free skate on Olympics ice. He’s twenty points from the bronze medal, meaning it will take a lot for him to make it to the podium. His teammates, however, have a decent shot at making the podium, but the competition is fierce.
Here’s what you need to watch the men’s figure skating free skate competition on TV and online:
Date: Friday, Feb. 16
Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Gangneung Ice Arena
TV Channel: NBC (delayed) and NBC Sports Network (live)
Live Stream: NBCSports.com
Live Stream 2: fuboTV
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Figure skating will take a break after the men’s competition and will resume on Sunday, February 18, as the ice dance competition kicks off with the short dance event.