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sports Friday 11 February 2022
Chen, Kim soar to Olympic gold medals on best day for U.S.

By BERNIE WILSON She had two training runs
BEIJING (AP) — Nathan on the super-G course
Chen soared effortlessly Thursday. The 26-year-old
and nearly perfectly five from Colorado never has
times during his "Rocket- entered a super-G at an
man" performance. Olympics but did win it at
When his skates touched the 2019 world champion-
down for the final time in a ships.
historic arena in Beijing, he "I will try to reset again, and
was an Olympic gold med- maybe try to reset better
alist. this time," Shiffrin said after
Up at Genting Snow Park, the slalom. "But I also don't
Chloe Kim nailed all five know how to do better be-
jumps on her first run cause," she continued, be-
through the Secret Garden fore pausing, "because I
Olympic halfpipe, enough just don't."
for her to easily defend her Shiffrin is trying to become
Olympic title on Thursday. the first Alpine ski racer from
It was the United States' the United States to win
best day yet at the Beijing three Olympic golds across
Games. The United States a career.
also won gold in the Olym- MIXED TEAM AERIALS
pics' first mixed team aeri- The American trio of Ashley
als event, giving it a total Nathan Chen, of the United States, competes in the men's free skate program during the figure Caldwell, Christopher Lil-
of four gold medals and 10 skating event at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Beijing. lis and Justin Schoenefeld
overall. Associated Press each earned their first Win-
Chen, whose parents im- ter Games medals in mixed
migrated from China, had Since his disappointment in puts you in a weird head- snowboarders to win back- team aerials, the first time
a memorable free skate Pyeongchang, Chen has space." to-back halfpipe golds. the United States medaled
to finally put behind him won three straight world IOC President Thomas Bach White did it in 2006 and in the freestyle skiing disci-
the immense disappoint- championships — the 2020 and China's superstar free- 2010. After finishing fourth pline in a dozen years. Lillis'
ment from four years ago, competition was canceled style skier Eileen Gu were in Sochi, the 35-year-old back double full-full-dou-
when a nightmarish short because of the pandemic in the crowd. Gu even from Carlsbad, California, ble full was given the high-
program in South Korea — and extended his run of hugged Kim between runs. returned to the top of the est score of any trick in the
dashed his medal hopes. national championships to Queralt Castellet of Spain podium in 2018. finals, and the U.S. title was
Skating his "Rocketman" six. took the silver medal in her SHIFFRIN RESETS assured when Schoenefeld
program set to the film Chen is the first American fifth Olympics. Sena Tomita The U.S. ski team said two- followed with a clean back
score by Elton John, the figure skating champion of Japan held off Cai Xue- time Olympic gold med- double full-full-full.
22-year-old Chen landed since Evan Lysacek in 2010. tong of China for bronze. alist Mikaela Shiffrin will FOLLOWING HIS FATHER
all five of his quads to leave KIM'S CORONATION Shaun White will try for his compete in the super-G on Austrian skier Johannes
no question he was the best Chloe Kim was so good on second straight halfpipe Friday. Shiffrin failed to finish Strolz won the Olympic
in the world. He finished her first run down the half- gold medal and fourth both the giant slalom and gold medal in the Alpine
with 332.60 points, three off pipe that it didn't matter overall on Friday in his fifth slalom, missing a gate with- combined race 34 years
his own world record and that she failed to land a big and final Olympics. Kim in seconds of starting each after his father, Hubert, did
22 ahead of silver medalist trick on her last run, aka the joined White as the only race. the same.q
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan. victory lap. The 21-year-old,
Shoma Uno of Japan took who started snowboard-
bronze. ing as a kid in Southern
"It means the world. I'm just California, became the first
so happy," said Chen, who woman to win consecutive
was relaxed and expressive Olympic titles on the half-
throughout his routine. pipe.
Chen, who is from Salt Lake The last rider into the half-
City, took off with an open- pipe on the first run, Kim
ing quad salchow. He ef- landed all five jumps, in-
fortlessly landed four more cluding a front and back-
quads. He had a slight bob- side 1080 — three spins
ble on a late combination each — and a 900. She
sequence. seemed to amaze even
When his scores were read, herself, twice putting her
coach Rafael Arutyunyan hands to her head at the
raised Chen's left arm like a end of the run, which
championship boxer. earned a score of 94.
In the Capital Indoor Stadi- Kim had struggled in prac-
um, where the United States tice before the competi-
and China played the first tion began.
matches of the pingpong "I was just so proud of my-
diplomacy in 1971, Chen self. I had the worst prac-
made some history of his tice ever," she said. "I prob-
own by capping one of ably landed my run twice
the most dominant four- when I'm used to landing
year runs in skating history. it eight times. That kind of