Nathan Chen will go to the world championships to attempt to defend his title, U.S. Figure Skating announced on Sunday.
But he will not compete at the Four Continents Championships that begin Feb. 5 in Anaheim, Calif. Chen won Four Continents in 2017.
The two-time Grand Prix Final champion won his third consecutive national title earlier Sunday.
Chen will be joined by 2019 U.S. medalists Vincent Zhou (silver) and Jason Brown (bronze) at Worlds, held March 18-24 in Saitama, Japan.
Zhou, Brown, and pewter medalist (fourth place) Tomoki Hiwatashi will compete at Four Continents. Hiwatashi has always looked up to Chen, Zhou and Brown, and told NBCSports.com/figure-skating:
“(The top three) have always been there, ever since I was juvenile. When I got first (place) in juvenile, Vincent got first in intermediate. Jason was already junior or senior, Nathan was novice first place.”
Bradie Tennell and Mariah Bell were named to the world team on Saturday. Ice dance medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker and newly-crowned pair champions Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc were also named to the team.
MORE: Costume drama: Jason Brown’s apparel odyssey
As a reminder, you can watch the U.S., Four Continents and World Championships live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. Go to NBCsports.com/gold/figure-skating to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season. NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.
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