Nathan Chen got off to a bad start at Skate America

End of the series for Nathan Chen at Skate America: the American, winner of the four previous editions of the competition which traditionally kicks off the international figure skating season, had to settle for 3rd place on Saturday in Las Vegas , leaving the victory to his compatriot Vincent Zhou. With just over 100 days of the Beijing Olympics (Feb 4-20) where he dreams of covering himself in gold, Chen has fallen from the top, having strung victories for three and a half seasons. It was indeed necessary to go back to the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang not to find him on the top step of the podium of an international competition.

Only 4th after the short program, the triple world champion, 22, failed to regain the ascendancy with his free program where he had to incorporate six quadruple jumps, but ultimately only spent four. He was credited with the second score, behind Zhou, with his freestyle built around a variation of Mozart. With his total of 269.37 points, he was clearly ahead of Zhou (295.56 pts) and narrowly failed to obtain 2nd place against the Japanese Shoma Uno (270.68 pts).

Despite this disappointment, the American, favorite for the Olympic title in Beijing, remains confident. “It’s not that bad, my winning streak was going to end one day or another, I’m very proud of the two skaters who beat me. I’m glad that the victory went to Vincent, as much as it is him», He insisted. “We must try to move forward, learn from this competition and move forward“Said Chen, who will participate next weekend in the next Grand Prix, Skate Canada.

Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa 9th

Zhou, who will be 21 on Monday, made an impression on him, far from his disastrous performance at the last World Championships, concluded in 25th place. “I just tried to stay focused on me and the moment that I was in“, He insisted after having succeeded the four quadruple jumps of his free program on the musical theme of the film”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon“. For his Grand Prix debut, 20-year-old Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa finished in 9th place after signing the seventh best free skate, while compatriot Kevin Aymoz was forced to retire due to injury before the program. free.

– .