The Russian Olympic Committee team took the lead in the figure skating team competition on Sunday after Kamila Valieva turned in a commanding performance in the women’s short program, earning the night’s high score.
Karen Chen, the American skater who missed out on an Olympic bronze in 2018 when she wasn’t chosen to represent the United States in the team competition, finished out of the top three positions after falling during her program.
Chen, who nearly quit the sport after finishing 11th in the singles competition at the last Olympics, will undoubtedly feel pressure to perform better than ever as one of the 10 women competing in the short program.
The United States, which won bronze at the past two Winter Games, led through the first day of the three-day team event in Beijing. On Friday, the first day of the team competition, American skaters who competed in their short programs all logged personal bests.
Nathan Chen, the gold medal favorite in the men’s singles, won; so did the ice dancers Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue. Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier finished third in pairs. Those strong finishes lifted the U.S. team into first place with 28 points, 2 points ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee. China is in third, with 21 points.
Once the women’s short program is over on Sunday, the top five countries in the standings will advance. The next phase of the event, the men’s free skate, is scheduled to begin at noon (11 p.m. Eastern). Vincent Zhou, a two-time Olympian, will skate for the United States. When he won Skate America in October, he became the first man since March 2018 to beat his U.S. teammate Nathan Chen, the three-time world champion.
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