U.S. champion Nathan Chen beat Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu in a second straight program, taking the lead at the Four Continents Championships at the 2018 Olympic venue in South Korea on Friday.
Chen, 17, landed two quadruple jumps for a personal-best 103.12 points, his first time cracking 100 internationally, to lead by 2.84 points going into Sunday’s free skate (full results here). Four Continents is a tune-up for the world championships in six weeks.
“That score is really incredible,” said Chen, who plans five quadruple jumps in the free skate, as he did at the U.S. Championships last month. “It’s close to what I got at nationals, so it’s great to see it reaffirmed at an international event.”
Japan’s Shoma Uno is in second place, followed by Hanyu, who lost points with a double Salchow instead of a quadruple Salchow. Hanyu is 6.08 points behind Chen.
“I didn’t know [Chen]’s score,” said Hanyu, who skated after Chen. “I think [coach] Brian [Orser] was trying to block it from me.”
World bronze medalist Jin Boyang of China is fourth, followed by three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada.
Americans Grant Hochstein and Jason Brown are seventh and ninth.
Chen also bettered Hanyu in the free skate of their last international competition, the Grand Prix Final in December. Hanyu still won that event thanks in part to a short-program edge of 6.77 points (and 21.23 over Chen).
Hanyu hasn’t been beaten by an American in competition since 2011 Cup of China.
Earlier in ice dance, Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took their third Four Continents title with 196.95 points, topping the free dance as they did the short dance Thursday. Americans Maia and Alex Shibutani and Madison Chock and Evan Bates earned silver and bronze with 191.85 and 185.58 points, respectively.
NBCSN will air free dance and men’s short program coverage Friday at 12 p.m. ET.
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