Nathan Chen | Page 1022 | Golden Skate

Nathan Chen

If his nerves are the issue I'm not sure changing the tech content will change the outcome. The practice 4Lo caught on video was a thing of beauty, I think he does his planned content easily during training, without the competition nerves.

I was actually pretty Zen about things because we might not see Nathan skate that much after this season, I was just trying to enjoy his skate. I just hope Nathan gives me a great skate I can rewatch on loop, like the Stockholm FS.
 
lurkz2 said:
If his nerves are the issue I'm not sure changing the tech content will change the outcome. The practice 4Lo caught on video was a thing of beauty, I think he does his planned content easily during training, without the competition nerves.
Click to expand...

We'll never know but at least he needed to give himself a chance. He normally starts off the season with easier content until he gets used to performing the programs, but for some reason his team decided to deviate from what's worked for him in the past. The 4Lo attempts that I've seen in practice this week have all been mediocre at best so I don't know why he's so intent on including it.
 
I'm not to worried about the falls. I prefer for him to fall now, even not win and take some pressure off than go to the olympics as this undeafeted since forever skater. What worries me more is the program. Up until nemesis it's really empty - I know he can't have transitions everywhere in his FS, but his SP's used to be more busy. I hope it's just because he was sort of going through the motions when his jumps failed, but I hoped for something different during the olympic season.
 
I can't believe half the people now think they know whats best for Nathan's life after one bad sp? Everybody has a bad day, and now they know exactly how they should rearrange Nathan's long program content based off this performance.

My opinion is that the short program is bad. I'm not too worried about the jumps, even Nathan has a bad day - and usually kicks ass in the free program with history making performances after.
The program itself felt a bit empty, but also the music cut just didn't work for me.

Good luck to you for the free program tomorrow, and may you experience success on quad loop (that you have 100% success rate on in previous competitions, and in practice have been more consistent on than quad lutz recently) - and I trust that Aruntyan knows what he's doing.

P.S - even read some comments that he now has no chance beating Vincent. Seriously, he's not that far behind and a clean nathan would clear Vincent by 20 points in the free - remember also that Vincent and Shoma aren't necessarily kings of consistency either. He's not conceded the gold medal at all, does nobody remember world championships 2021?
 
Nathan is most definitely not out of this. He's more than capable of clearing other skaters by 20-30 pts at the end of a competition, even after being down in the SP. I think people are just a little shell-shocked because he has set such a high standard over the years and this is the worst he's done in an SP since 2018. This being an important Olympic year, it's sort of easy to forget that we're only at the beginning of the season and that he's human. I support Nathan in whatever he decides to do for his layout in the FP. There's a chance he may not skate anymore after this year, and for what he's accomplished over the past 3-4 years, if he wants to do the 4L and to try to reach for something more in his skating rather than just worrying about a winning streak, he should go for it. It's his mentality that's most important. All I really want to see from him tonight is more energy, focus, and signs that he wants to put up a fight and that he's not going to just give up after one bad skate.
 
Last edited:
Honestly, I am more shocked and disappointed with the reactions here than his performance in the SP. Nathan is not infallible, and with any performer, like Simone Biles, the pressure placed on him is ridiculous and the mental fortitude it takes to keep the nerves in check has got to be a lot and has to be consistently high. I was not thrilled with the fumbles, but I am reminded of how hungry he is in wanting to reach his goal in getting an Olympic gold because the nerves this time around got the best of him. However, I will always believe he is a great study of his sport and his own performances, and he is probably pissed - more pissed that some of you are in this forum, so I am very confident he will bounce back and bounce back strong in his FS.

I still like his SP, despite the stark transition from the end of Eternity to the beginning of Nemesis. I believe in Nathan and he just needs to do him and do what he always does. Looking forward to the magic that will be his FS tonight.
 
He was all about the triple Axel, that he probably missed it once . He was practicing it like a poses man, He also looked slow and lethargic in his practices. Of course I want him to win every competition he enters, but is important for him to pick at the right time. Let’s wait and see….
 
There's absolutely nothing wrong with making mistakes. In fact, if you go back and look at Nathan's previous early season comps he's never been especially clean at them, even with reduced difficulty. Which is why I have always thought it a very strange decision to enter no warm up events prior to SA. In past seasons he's been able to get some mileage on his programs by skating them at JO and shows.
 
Last edited:
I have calmed down too and now regret my previous comment - and hereby apologize for it, to you and to Nathan & team. I'm tempted to delete but what has been said has been said.
It's just the nerves speaking on my behalf. Now that I'm more clear in my head, I realise all those things you said too.

Edit: I have deleted it.
 
This Nathan fan had PTSD come up last night during that SP. It just brought back all the disappointment of the Olympic SPs. I can't really judge this new/old SP yet though as I feel we haven't truly seen what it's supposed to look like yet. I do trust Nathan. And even though I wish he would water his programs down a bit for my own nerves I know he does what he always feels he is capable of doing. Hoping he comes back tonight with a strong freeskate, just like he did at Worlds. But this is just the first comp for him. It's not the end all or be all of the season. And despite his "unbeaten" record, he usually does make mistakes early in the season.

If he somehow decides to scrap this SP and go back to another one (though I don't think he will) what SP would you like to see him revisit? For me it would be Caravan.
 
purplecat said:
If he somehow decides to scrap this SP and go back to another one (though I don't think he will) what SP would you like to see him revisit? For me it would be Caravan.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing. I do like the Mozart long program but when paired with Eternity for the short, it’s too much funeral music. I’d rather see something light and fun for the short and Caravan would be a nice contrast.

I know he doesn’t like to recycle programs but maybe he’ll make an exception this year. Or maybe Eternity will grow on me. Either way, I just hope for the best year ever for him.
 
purplecat said:
This Nathan fan had PTSD come up last night during that SP. It just brought back all the disappointment of the Olympic SPs. I can't really judge this new/old SP yet though as I feel we haven't truly seen what it's supposed to look like yet. I do trust Nathan. And even though I wish he would water his programs down a bit for my own nerves I know he does what he always feels he is capable of doing. Hoping he comes back tonight with a strong freeskate, just like he did at Worlds. But this is just the first comp for him. It's not the end all or be all of the season. And despite his "unbeaten" record, he usually does make mistakes early in the season.

If he somehow decides to scrap this SP and go back to another one (though I don't think he will) what SP would you like to see him revisit? For me it would be Caravan.
Click to expand...
Honestly at this point I wouldn't even mind a repeat of last seasons sp. It wasn't my favourite, but I only remember seeing it 3 times (whereas Caravan I watched hundreds of times).
At this point even classical ballet sp would be a nice thing to revisit though. Or maybe a rechoreographed micheal jackson sp.
The 2019-2020 sp was forgettable though.
 
I disagree that the sp is bad. It is something in his comfort zone which is an important factor for an Olympic season. I will wait until next showing to decide whether I like it or not. There were moments I enjoyed from yesterday even though things did not go as planned.
 
Hello. Long time lurker and my first post (and probably one of the few ones lol). But I just had to comment because of some of the reactions.

For me, it might be too early to think about changing his SP to something else or reverting to an old program. It is just the beginning of the season and there will be kinks to be fixed. And like others have said, everyone has a bad day. Unfortunately, it happened during the SP for him. As much as I would like for him to remain "unbeaten", it would not matter if that ends in SA. All I wish for him is that he does his best and he enjoys the experience. And that hopefully he peaks at the right time (Olympics) and has the best season ever.
 
snlrcs said:
Hello. Long time lurker and my first post (and probably one of the few ones lol). But I just had to comment because of some of the reactions.

For me, it might be too early to think about changing his SP to something else or reverting to an old program. It is just the beginning of the season and there will be kinks to be fixed. And like others have said, everyone has a bad day. Unfortunately, it happened during the SP for him. As much as I would like for him to remain "unbeaten", it would not matter if that ends in SA. All I wish for him is that he does his best and he enjoys the experience. And that hopefully he peaks at the right time (Olympics) and has the best season ever.
Click to expand...
Great first post. Welcome to Golden Skate.

And as a Nathan fan, I have total faith in him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

dorispulaski
2026 U.S. Nationals Novice Pairs
Replies
7
Views
1K
Silevril Ilumire
Silevril Ilumire
4everchan
2026 Canadian Nationals : Women's Short Program
9 10 11
Replies
200
Views
9K
4everchan
4everchan
rabidline
Shoma Uno
105 106 107
Replies
2K
Views
38K
Figskater23
F
4everchan
2026 Canadian Nationals : Senior Rhythm Dance
10 11 12
Replies
236
Views
9K
viennaskater
viennaskater
4everchan
2026 Canadian Nationals : Women's Long Program
12 13 14
Replies
276
Views
10K
4everchan
4everchan
Back
Top