San Jose, Calif. • Nathan Chen skated off the ice, his head down, knowing even a dominant night could’ve been much, much better. That’s who he is. The 18-year-old phenom won the men’s short program Thursday evening at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Neither is the work-in-progress-routine that Chen, the reigning U.S. champion and likely Olympic medal contender, knows must be better if he wants to stand atop a podium in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in a month’s time.
Chen left the ice not at all disheartened or deterred. He smiled, as he usually does.