Nathan Chen has massive comeback in the free skate

Nathan Chen had a huge comeback performance in his men’s free skate program at the 2018 Winter Olympics, reminding everyone that he’s a true champion.

It has been a rough road for Nathan Chen at the 2018 Winter Olympics with two less-than-favorable short programs. Until now. Chen came out swinging in the men’s free skate program, landing six quad jumps and earning the fifth highest score in the free skate’s history.

Chen made his Olympics debut in the team figure skating men’s short program. The 17-year-old was nervous, falling on his trademark quad jumps and making it into fourth place. He came out again in the men’s short program and had the same falls in the same places, looking nervous once more despite hitting the practice ice hard between competitions to prove to himself that he can land the quads with the best of them — because he is one of the best skaters out there when it comes to quad jumps.

In the free skate, Chen had a lot of catching up to do. In order to make it to contention for the bronze medal, he needed a very clean skate and at least 22 points.

He nailed it.

Chen planned five quad jumps in his free skate but ended up with six total. His first quad lutz, the one that gave him trouble in the short programs, was flawless. He added a quad flip, a quad toe-triple toe combination and a quad salchow. One of his quads was a little rough, but since he landed so many in the second half of his program he ended up with a 10 percent bonus.

Chen finished the program with a 215.08, which, combined with his 82.22 from the short program, gives him a 297.35. His total score would have given him a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Games by 17 points.

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With that free skate program, Nathan Chen reminds everyone why he’s one of the best figure skaters in the world. Pulling off a medal would be a huge accomplishment and one of the best comebacks of the 2018 Olympic Games.