Nathan Chen, the U.S.’ best Olympic medal chance in men’s skating, was officially nominated to compete next month in PyeongChang, U.S. Figure Skating announced on Sunday. Joining Chen in PyeongChang will be 2018 nationals bronze medalist Vincent Zhou and 2016 national champion Adam Rippon.
While all three will be new to the Olympic experience, the age gap spans a decade. Chen, 18, and Zhou, 17, likely have more years in the sport, while Rippon, 28, has been through – and missed out on – two prior Olympic teams.
Chen’s resume most recently includes two national titles (2017, 2018), two gold medals on the Grand Prix circuit, plus the prestigious Grand Prix Final gold medal last month. He also won the 2017 Four Continents Championships; incidentally, those were held in the same venue that will host 2018 Olympic figure skating. He beat reigning Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan for that victory.
Chen, born in Salt Lake City, began skating on a practice rink designed for the 2002 Olympics. When he won a novice national title in 2010, he said on the NBC broadcast that he would be a factor in the 2018 Olympics. Back then, it wasn’t even known where the 2018 Olympics would be held.
“That was always the dream of mine,” Chen said on the NBSCSN broadcast after winning his national title. “That was always what I wanted to accomplish in 2018. And I think I’ve done that.”
And what does he think of the prospect of PyeongChang now?
“There’s another big step to the Games – more pressure, more media, all that,” Chen said. “This is exactly what I wanted my entire life, and I’m ready for it.”
Rippon didn’t make the 2010 Olympic team after finishing fifth at those nationals. He didn’t make the 2014 team when he was eighth at those nationals. The 2008 and 2009 world junior champion calls himself a “late bloomer” and won his first national title in 2016. But he broke his foot in January 2017 ago and spent 12 weeks off the ice. He finished fourth at the 2018 nationals, but his body of work boosted his Olympic selection criteria. He won two silver medals on the Grand Prix circuit in the fall and competed in the Grand Prix Final, where he was fifth.
Zhou captured a bronze medal at nationals on Saturday in front of a home crowd in San Jose. The Bay Area native went for five quads in his free skate at nationals, despite three under rotations and a downgrade on those jumps. Despite his rough Grand Prix season (fourth and ninth place finishes), he was the 2017 world junior champion.
“I definitely feel ready,” Zhou said in a press conference following the free skate Saturday night. “I have been training very well. I know I deserve to go to Korea. But that is not up to me, it is up to the selection committee.”
Jason Brown, who finished a disappointing sixth at nationals, was not named to the team. The 2014 Olympic team bronze medalist is instead the first alternate.
2018 national silver medalist Ross Miner very nearly threw off the process of Olympic selection. He had the skate of his life to capture the silver medal, but his international resume was lacking. Miner was named as an alternate for the Olympics, too.
Chen, Zhou and Rippon join the women newly-named to the PyeongChang Olympic team, Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen (no relation to Nathan).
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