For the men, Team USA\u2019s Nathan Chen and Japan\u2019s Yuma Kagiyama stole the show in the short program and free skate, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n Seeking redemption after his disappointing showings at the Olympics four years ago, Chen immediately took command of the ice with his \u201cLa Boh\u00e8me\u201d program \u2013 one that he brought back from the 2019-20 season. He opened his short program with a quad flip, earning 4.24 in positive Grades of Execution (GOE) \u2013 the most of any element. But he did not let this force him to get ahead of himself.<\/span><\/p>\n Chen continued the rest of the program with ease, also earning positive GOEs on his triple Axel and quad Lutz-triple toe and receiving level fours on his spins and step sequence.<\/span><\/p>\n “As we’ve seen since 2018 (Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018), even if someone doesn’t have the best skate, we have an incredibly strong team to back us all up,\u201d the 22-year-old said. \u201cThat’s certainly the case this time around \u2013 I’m happy I did my part and skated as good as I can.”<\/span><\/p>\n The reigning world champion earned 111.71 for his performance, an ISU personal best and just 0.11 shy of the world record set by Yuzuru Hanyu. This earned Team USA 10 points, putting them first in the team standings heading into the remaining two events for Day 1.<\/span><\/p>\n In anticipation of facing Hanyu and other medal contenders in the individual event, Chen is carrying this victory into next week\u2019s competition.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt’s nice to be able to have run-throughs like this,\u201d he said about being able to perform before the individual event. \u201cWhatever you can take from each practice, whether good or bad, you take with you, and that’s the same thing with competition.” Japan\u2019s Shoma Uno placed second in the short program after nailing a quad flip, a quad toe-triple toe, and a triple axel. With two level four spins, he scored 105.46 for his performance, which \u2013 like Chen\u2019s \u2013 is a personal best. His second-place finish here gave Japan 9 points in their hunt for the podium.<\/span><\/p>\n Russian Olympic Committee\u2019s Mark Kondratiuk rounded out the top three with his short program. While he hung on to his opening quad toe and triple Axel, he skated the program nicely, receiving positive GOEs on all elements, including a quad Salchow-triple toe combination and a level four step sequence. His performance scored 95.81, which earned the Russian Olympic Committee 8 points for the segment.<\/span><\/p>\n Heading into the men\u2019s free skate, the Russian Olympic Committee sat in first place with 36 points. Team USA were narrowly behind them with 34, and Japan were third with 29. Between ROC and Team USA, the hunt was on for the gold medal. But Japan\u2019s Yuma Kagiyama gave both teams a run for their money. Kagiyama, who skated in place of Uno, was off to a solid start in his free, opening his program with a quad Salchow followed by a quad loop, a quad toe, and a triple Axel-triple toe combination. He then went on to execute a quad toe-Euler-triple Salchow combination as well as three more triples.<\/span><\/p>\n “I did a really good job today and I would like to say my performance today is perfect,\u201d Kagiyama said following his free skate. \u201cBut I need to even try harder in my individual events.”<\/span><\/p>\n Scoring 208.94 for the performance \u2013 a personal best \u2013 the 18-year-old won by over 27 points, earning 10 points for Japan and firmly positioning himself as a medal contender in the individual event.<\/span><\/p>\n ROC\u2019s Mark Kondratiuk placed second in the free skate, opening with a quad toe and landing two quad Salchows in the second half \u2013 one of which was in combination with a triple toe. His only error was doubling the Salchow in his planned triple Lutz-Euler-triple Salchow combination after he got too close to the boards. He receiving 181.65 for his electric performance to music from <\/span>Jesus Christ Superstar<\/span><\/i>, widening ROC\u2019s lead by earning them 9 points.<\/span><\/p>\n “I was nervous, but I practiced and warmed up better than [in] previous competitions, so that [helped] me relax a little more.”<\/span><\/p>\n This relaxation proved to help him in the second half of his program, where he landed a quad Salchow-triple toe combination, a triple Axel-Euler-triple Salchow combination, and a triple Axel-double toe combination. Scoring 171.44 for his performance, Zhou earned Team USA 8 points going into Day 3 of the team event.<\/span><\/p>\n The individual men\u2019s event takes place Feb. 8 and 10.<\/span><\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: Following the conclusion of the team event, Vincent Zhou <\/span><\/i>announced<\/span><\/i><\/a> his withdrawal from the individual event on Feb. 7 due to testing positive for COVID-19.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Russian Olympic Committee\u2019s Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov narrowly lost the rhythm dance to Hubbell\/Donohue after Katsalapov lost his balance in his twizzles. They earned 85.05 points and received 9 points for ROC, for a total of 17 points following the two events.<\/span><\/p>\n Italy\u2019s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri\u2019s Michael Jackson rhythm dance earned a season\u2019s best score of 83.83. They finished in third place and secured 8 points for Team Italy, which had a total of 14 points after the two events.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Canada\u2019s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished behind Guignard and Fabbri in fourth place. Their Elton John rhythm dance earned a score of 82.72 and earned 7 points for Team Canada, which had a total of 10 points after the two events.<\/span><\/p>\n Shiyue Wang and<\/span> Xinyu Liu<\/span><\/a> were fifth in the rhythm dance with 74.66 points and contributed 6 team points for Team China, which had a total of 11 points following this segment of the team event.<\/span><\/p>\n “I felt very present in each moment of the program,\u201d said Bates following the free dance. \u201cI couldn’t tell you what I was thinking at any point in the program, but I just remember being very present and enjoying it.\u00a0 Especially when we came around the diagonal at the end, we’re hearing our teammates cheering us on, it really lifted us and gave us energy for that last push of the program.”<\/span><\/p>\n At the conclusion of the dance event, Team USA sat in second place with 58 points.<\/span><\/p>\n Reigning World champions Sinitsina and Katsalapov delivered a fluid performance to their Sergei Rachmaninov\u2019s Piano Concerto No.2 and earned level four for five of their elements. However, the two-time European champions received a one-point deduction for an extended lift that cost them first-place They earned 128.17 points and earned the Russian Olympic Committee nine points.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite still having the women\u2019s free skate to go, Russian Olympic Committee had already sealed the gold medal.<\/span><\/p>\n Two-time Canadian champions Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished behind Sinitsina and Katsalapov in third place. Their “Long and Winding Road” free dance earned a score of 124.39 and earned 8 points for Team Canada, which had a total of 45 points heading into the final event.<\/span><\/p>\n “We are really thrilled to have completed our first event at the Olympic Games,\u201d said Poirier. \u201cIt’s such a mix feeling to be able to do both of these programs again in the individual event. That’s a special feeling for us. Both programs were really strong, but there were a few moments where we felt could be stronger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n China\u2019s Shiyue Wang and<\/span> Xinyu Liu<\/span><\/a> were fourth in the segment with 107.18 points. Their Kung Fu Piano free dance contributed 7 team points for Team China, which had a total of 44 points following this segment of the team event.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn general we are quite satisfied with our performance today,\u201d Wang said. \u201cWe were able to show the emotions we wanted to convey. Because we do not have much experience in big events, we still need to improve our levels and skills, but generally we are satisfied with ourselves.”<\/span><\/p>\n Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto of Japan <\/span>were fifth in the free dance at 98.66 points. They contributed 6 team points for Team Japan, which had a total of 54 points after this segment.<\/span><\/p>\n “We felt so inspired by the other skaters on Team Japan today and earlier in the team event, so I’m glad we were able to skate today and also in the rhythm dance (on Friday) with no major mistakes,\u201d said Koleto.<\/span><\/p>\n The individual dance event takes place Feb. 12 and 14.<\/span><\/p>\n Facing off in the short program, the two pair teams skated near-perfect performances, receiving all level fours and only positive GOEs, especially for their triple twist and throw triple flip \u2013 their two highest-scored elements.<\/span><\/p>\n While Mishina and Galliamov scored more in GOE (12.42 vs. 12.27), Sui and Han scored 0.44 more in program components, winning the short program by 0.19 with a world record score of 82.83. Mishina and Galliamov\u2019s 82.64 is the second-highest pairs short program score.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think we performed at the level of our training, but our trainer said we were still a bit tense,\u201d Sui said following their performance. \u201cI hope that in the individual competition, we can do better so we can put on an excellent show, together with all the other Olympians from other countries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor us, on one hand, this is a warm up game for our individual pair event,\u201d Han said. \u201cOn the other hand, we need to contribute to the team event.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI hope, on the occasion of the Chinese New Year, to bring everyone a gift, a good gift in front of everybody\u2019s eyes,\u201d Sui continued.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite their focus on the individual event, however, Day 1 of the team event instilled within the pair a sense of team spirit like no other.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is the first time for us to participate in the Olympic Team Event and we are very pleased to see the performances of our team members, we were rinkside to watch everyone,\u201d Sui said. \u201cWe like to use the opportunity to perform and to fight for our team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Team USA\u2019s Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier placed third for their clean skate, earning a personal best score of 75.00. Like Sui\/Han and Mishina\/Galliamov, they, too, received all level fours and only positive GOEs.<\/span> \u201cWe’ve been trying to compete the way we skate at home, and that’s (by doing) really solid performances,\u201d Knierim told the media after their short program. \u201cIt felt good to do that today because this is where we wanted to do it most.”<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe really put a lot of work into just taking everything element by element in every <\/span>practice, and supporting each other, and that’s exactly what we did out there,\u201d Frazier said.<\/span><\/p>\n Knierim noted that the performances of her teammates \u2013 who placed first in the men\u2019s short and the rhythm dance earlier that day \u2013 made her feel more self-assured when it was her turn to take the ice.<\/span><\/p>\n “I watched Nathan Chen kill it, and if anything it gave me a bit of excitement and calmness because I felt like our country collectively is ready.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt just made me feel reassured that I’m on a phenomenal team,\u201d Frazier agreed.<\/span><\/p>\n Their placement earned Team USA 8 points for the segment and solidified Team USA\u2019s lead going into Day 2.<\/span><\/p>\n The pair opened their program with side-by-side triple Salchow-Euler-triple Salchows \u2013 their highest scoring element. After executing a level four triple twist next, they continued to skate effortlessly through the rest of their \u201cThe Snowstorm\u201d and \u201cTime, Forward!\u201d free skate, landing both of their throw jumps and their side-by-side triple toes.<\/span><\/p>\n Their only mistake came when disaster struck at the end of their final lift: Galliamov tripped on a mohawk during the lift\u2019s exit, causing him to drop Mishina and both of them to fall \u2013 an uncharacteristic mistake for the pair.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe didn’t understand it ourselves,\u201d Mishina told the media after their performance. \u201cIt just felt like normal skating and then that happened.”<\/span><\/p>\n According to Galliamov, the mistake was merely due to a loss of balance.<\/span><\/p>\n “I just lost my balance,\u201d he said. \u201cI couldn’t hold it anymore.”<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately, there was no immediate sign of injury for the pair, who quickly got up for their ending pose \u2013 a move where Galliamov, coincidentally, lifts Mishina right back up into the air. Even though they received a two-point deduction for the fall and a level three for the lift, Mishina and Galliamov still earned 145.20 for the program \u2013 more than five points ahead of Japan\u2019s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara in second place.<\/span><\/p>\n Miura and Kihara opened their free skate with a level three triple twist, which received 1.63 in positive GOE. But while they both landed their side-by-side triple toe-double toe-double toe combination, Miura\u2019s triple toe was called under-rotated, and the second double toe was called on the quarter. Their next side-by-side jump \u2013 the triple Salchow \u2013 was cleanly landed, however. They additionally executed a throw triple Lutz and throw triple loop as well as two level four lifts.<\/span><\/p>\n “We had great support from our teammates,\u201d Miura said about their experience competing in the team event. \u201cWe knew we try our best for them and give them our best performance.”<\/span><\/p>\n The pair, who earned a personal best score in the team event\u2019s short program with 74.45, earned another personal best, scoring 139.60 for this free skate.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe didn’t make any mistakes today and this is our season best,\u201d Kihara said. \u201cWe’re happy about that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China placed third in the segment with 131.75. Though Peng struggled on her side-by-side jumps, singling her planned double toe after her triple toe and putting her foot down on an under-rotated triple Salchow, the pair performed two level-four lifts and landed their throw triple Salchow and throw triple loop. \u201cI thought we were in good shape today,\u201d Jin said about their performance. \u201cThere were some mistakes, but the overall presentation of the program was good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Being on home ice, the Chinese pair sought to pay homage to their country not just through their free skate music \u2013 which is a selection of songs by Chinese-American composer Tan Dun from the 2006 Chinese wuxia drama film <\/span>The Banquet <\/span><\/i>\u2013 but through their costumes as well.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur costumes are made by Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology,\u201d Peng said. \u201cThey are made of Suzhou embroidery \u2013 it is a national intangible cultural heritage skill, stitched by hand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n “It is very delicate,\u201d she continued. \u201cOur costumes are inspired by Chinese ink painting \u2013 they were specially made for the Olympic Games.\u201d Finishing just 1.68 behind Peng and Jin were Vanessa James and Eric Radford of Canada. The pair hit a side-by-side triple toe-double toe-double toe combination, three level four lifts, a throw triple Salchow, and a throw triple flip. This was especially a success for James, 34, and Radford, 37, who had collided with Italy\u2019s Nicole Della Monica and Mattero Guarise during a practice session the day before. James appeared to be most impacted by the collision, as an NBC Olympic\u2019s <\/span>clip<\/span><\/a> of the incident shows four medical personnel tending to James as she skated off the ice.<\/span><\/p>\n “I was a little scatterbrained this morning and not feeling the best,\u201d James said about recovering from the accident. \u201cI believed in us and believed in my partner and what we are capable of doing, and it felt good to perform like that today.”<\/span><\/p>\n This was sadly not the first time the two pairs had collided: As NBC learned from Jackie Wong of Rocker Skating, they had <\/span>another accident<\/span><\/a> on a different practice session a couple days prior, which hurt Della Monica and Radford the most. In 2019, James and Guarise had also collided during the six-minute warm-up for the short program at the world championships in Saitama.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was really hard to come back from it,\u201d she continued. \u201cTo skate like that even with all the bruises and a bit of shock from yesterday, it gives us confidence in the next week and a half leading into the next competition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After placing third in the team event\u2019s short program, Team USA\u2019s Knierim and Frazier placed fifth in the free skate with 128.97. Similar to Peng, Knierim did a single toe instead of a double in her side-by-side triple toe-double toe combination and put both her foot and hand down on an under-rotated her triple Salchow before turning out. \u201cI’m frustrated,\u201d Knierim said about her performance. \u201cI’m grateful to be here. And I’m really proud of what we put out there, but I can do better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Learning from these mistakes, Knierim \u2013 echoing the spirit of their free skate to \u201cFix You\u201d by Coldplay \u2013 apologized to her partner when the music ended.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cToday, he (Frazier) really shined up there – he was so solid and so strong,\u201d she remarked when asked about her apology. \u201cAnd there’s a sense that I let him down because this is our program together, so I did say \u2018sorry.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The individual pairs event takes place Feb. 18 and 19.<\/span><\/p>\n After the men and pairs short programs and the rhythm dance, Team USA was in first place with 28 points, followed by the Russian Olympic Committee with 26 points and Team China with 21 points. Team Japan sat just out of the top three with 20 points. Hoping to clinch a spot in the free skate, Italy sat in fifth with 18 points and Canada was in sixth with 16 points.<\/span><\/p>\n In the women\u2019s short program, Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, who is poised to win the Olympic gold medal in the women\u2019s event, delivered an exceptional short program that included a triple Axel. Her performance helped the Russian Olympic Committee over-take the lead from the United States in the team standings (36 points). 2022 U.S. silver medalist Karen Chen came in fifth after a disappointing short program where she fell on her triple loop. Her result dropped Team USA into the second position (34 points). Japan\u2019s Wakaba Higuchi picked up nine team points with her second-place short program to help Japan move up into the third position (29 points).<\/span><\/p>\n Canada advanced to the free skate thanks in part to Canadian Champion Madeline Schizas, who contributed eight team points by coming in third in the short program with a clean performance (24 points). China dropped to fifth place, tied with Georgia (22 points) after Zhu Yi finished in last place in the segment. Based on the tiebreaker rules which added up the top two placements, China advanced to the free skate over Georgia.<\/span><\/p>\n Like the short program, the women\u2019s free skate closed out the team event. While the Russian Olympic Committee had already solidified its gold medal, the event was highlighted by a history-making performance from its youngest team member.<\/span><\/p>\n Valieva became the first women to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics. In her \u201cBolero\u201d free skate, the 15-year-old landed a quadruple salchow, and then followed it up with a quadruple toe. She fell on her second quadruple toe that she had planned to do in combination with a triple-toe. She earned a 178.92 to earn 10 points for the Russian Olympic Committee, which had mathematically already claimed the gold medal ahead of Valieva\u2019s skate. \u201cI am glad that I was able to do the quad Salchow, quad toe and the triple Axel,\u201d Valieva said. \u201cOnly the second quad toe did not happen, but I\u2019ll work on that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nShort Program<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IMG_1575-2.jpg\")
<\/a>Starting off Day 1 of the team event, the men\u2019s short program set off Team USA\u2019s early lead in the competition, with Nathan Chen winning the segment by over six points.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nFree Skate<\/h5>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Team USA\u2019s Vincent Zhou, who skated in place of Chen, finished in third place around 10 points behind Kondratiuk. The beginning of his program was off to a shaky start after landing his quad Lutz on the quarter, popping his planned quad flip into a single, and under-rotating his quad Salchow and quad toe.<\/span><\/p>\nIce Dance<\/span><\/h3>\n
Rhythm Dance<\/h5>\n
<\/a>The rhythm dance followed the men\u2019s short program event where Team USA had taken an early lead with Nathan Chen\u2019s winning short program. That lead was extended when Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue won the rhythm dance with a strong performance. Their Janet Jackson rhythm dance earned level four for the twizzles and stationary lift. They earned a personal best score of 86.56 and earned 10 points for Team USA, bringing their team\u2019s total points at the time to 20.<\/span><\/p>\nFree Dance<\/h5>\n
<\/a>Team USA chose to substitute Hubbell and Donohue for three-time U.S. champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates. Their alien-astronaut themed program to the music of Daft Punk earned level four for their lifts, twizzles and dance spin to achieve a new personal best of 129.07 points and earn 10 points for Team USA.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>“I think we skated well. We did everything we wanted,\u201d said Sinitsina. \u201cWe wish to have more of a crowd. It felt like that element was really missing, just to have crowds cheering for us, but we felt really good about how we skated today.”<\/span><\/p>\nPairs<\/span><\/h3>\n
Short Program<\/h5>\n
<\/a>In pairs, all eyes were on the first showdown between two-time world champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China and reigning world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) \u2013 two of the gold medal contenders in the individual event.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nFree Skate<\/h5>\n
<\/a>In the free skate \u2013 with Sui and Han of China substituted by Cheng Peng and Yang Jin \u2013 the door was wide open for Mishina and Galliamov to win this segment, as no other gold medal contenders for the individual event were competing.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nWomen<\/h3>\n
Short Program<\/h5>\n
<\/a>The women were the last to skate their short program in the team event, which for some countries meant their fate to qualify for the free skate, lied in the hands of the women.<\/span><\/p>\nFree Skate<\/b><\/h5>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n