Nathan Chen | Page 79 | Golden Skate

Nathan Chen

Does the sharpening stone help to eliminate the problem? I'm just wondering how much of an issue it'll be for him tomorrow! In his press conference, he said it should be fixed for tomorrow but I just had never seen anybody get that done in a warmup before!

It can temporarily. Many skaters and coaches use those stones for various reasons for the blades, sometimes if you want one edge sharper than the other it works well quickly to do that too, among other things.
I wouldn't worry about it, there are skate tech's at the event who can look at his blade and deal with the problem.
 
It can temporarily. Many skaters and coaches use those stones for various reasons for the blades, sometimes if you want one edge sharper than the other it works well quickly to do that too, among other things.
I wouldn't worry about it, there are skate tech's at the event who can look at his blade and deal with the problem.

Agreed that his blade should be fine by tomorrow but those stones best use is to remove burrs after sharpening. I guess they can do a temporary fix if you’re in a jam and nicked the blade or something. Maybe the stone fixed it but even if it didn’t I’m sure there is a trusted sharpener at lake placid. I have a friend who competed at the elite level and said the best sharpening he ever got was at Lake Placid. :)
 
Agreed that his blade should be fine by tomorrow but those stones best use is to remove burrs after sharpening. I guess they can do a temporary fix if your in a jam and nicked the blade on something. Maybe the stone fixed it but even if it didn’t I’m sure there is a trusted sharpener at lake placid. I have a friend who competed at the elite level and said the best sharpening he ever got was at Lake Placid. :)

They do remove burrs after sharpening (that's one use for them), they can also work for a quickie sharpen, or if a skater wants one edge a tad sharper, or if you need to quick fix a nick in the blade like Nathan had tonight. I used to carry one in my bag for a few of the reasons I listed and my singles coach always had one too, just like Raf did tonight.

There's definitely a pro or more in the rink to fix it.
 
Nathan did phenomenally in the SP. I think he has the best crafted SP of the elite men, and it's not close. There is always a little home inflation, but the fact the judges are willing to put down 104+ for an SP this early in the season with a less than perfect 4F and an iffy 3A should put *a lot* of fear in the other men. Hope his LP is flawless =)
 
Really a rough go for him today. :( I was sad watching him apologize to Raf. I was trying to hear what he was saying in the k&c and it sounded like he was still talking about his blades. Whatever it was, hopefully he's able to shake it off.
 
Something was definitely wrong with him today. He didn't even pop the 3A, it was only an attempted 1A. From the KnC convo with Raf it sounded like he was having problems with his left blade. That's the one he replaced so maybe it wasn't properly adjusted.
 
Now I admire Nathan even more, he kept skating despite what happened with Daniel Samohin (anyone in his place, with a history of injury, would have panicked) and what makes him a better champion is that instead of celebrating for the triumph he apologized to the audience and gave the impression that he wanted to give his medal to his partner Adam ... Nathan is an incredible skater but he is still very young, I wish with all my heart that he listens to the words of Rafael and Adam, "It' s OK ", Nathan rests and smiles tomorrow at the gala, you dont have to do quads, show us your art :luv17:

And the program? I will do the same thing that I do with him free program of Helsinki: I will see it again and again when I have some concern or fear, if Nathan being only a teenager is able to face his fears, I can also do it :agree:
 
Well, it was a rough go for pretty much everybody, a really unfortunate event! :curse: However, since is Nathan's fan fest, let's focus on positive stuff: he is the first one to land two 4Lz in the same program! Congratulations on this! :)

ED: And, of course, for the medal and making the GPF!
 
He is the ONLY men's qualifier to gain 30 qualifying points!! Good job Nathan--even with that rough skate. Blade issues sound really pesky and I'm sure he's annoyed. But he got the job done.
 
Disappointed for Nathan...gosh if it isn't the boots, it's the blades! Whether it was the blade or just nerves - as they say...better to have the bad skate here than in February. Wishing Nathan the best at the GPF!
 
((((((((((((((Nathan & Raf))))))))))))))))
Well I'm glad he got this one out of his system. And whatever the issue is with the blade and the 3A, fingers crossed they can have it sorted it soon!

And I just saw his apology to Raf. So he apologized to his coach AND the audience. I just want to give him a big hug now :sad21:
 
Article: Despite “Cursed Ice,” Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon Win Gold And Silver, Qualify For Grand Prix Final At Skate America
“I came in here with a lot more expectations in terms of what I was going to do. I wanted to hit the quads, but I used a lot of energy on that first (quadruple Lutz) since it was a little off in the six-minute warmup. I exerted too much energy there and then it took me a little bit to recalculate; I didn’t recalculate properly and so the rest of the program went downhill from there.”

Sounds like was largely an issue with stamina.
 
In the GS article he talks about switching his blade and how it affected his jumps.
https://goldenskate.com/2017/11/2017-skate-america-men/

“It was a little bit too sharp on the inside edge, so every time I pressed into it for a Sal, for a toe, for a flip even, it would catch into the ice a little harder than I was used to. I think that was a good experience. I tried it. At Worlds I had an extra pair of boots, but I didn’t try it because I didn’t want to risk it. I tried the risk here and it didn’t work, so it’s good to learn from.”
 
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