Here’s a Recap of Figure Skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Over the past 16 days of the Winter Olympics, figure skating action has been fierce both on and off the ice.
Figure skating’s five events, including men’s singles, women’s singles, ice dance, pairs and the team event, all took place at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing.
Team USA, whose team was finalized after the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships in January, had high hopes for Nathan Chen, and the ice dance duos of Madison Chock – Evan Bates and Madison Hubbell – Zach Donohue.
Over the years, the U.S. has been the most successful nation in figure skating, winning 51 medals. The tremendously competitive sport is the oldest on the Olympic program.
In the Game’s five medal events, the U.S. captured three, placing third on the leaderboard for most medals in the sport behind the ROC (6) and Japan (4). China and France each earned one medal.
As the Closing Ceremony marks the official end of the Winter Olympics, this is everything you need to know about figure skating at the Games:
The 2022 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Gala in Pictures
How many American figure skaters competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
There were a total of 16 figure skaters representing the U.S. at the 2022 Winter Olympics, split evenly between men and women.
Team USA’s representation was the second most at the Games, while the ROC had the most with 18 total participants and Canada had the third most with 13.
The entire figure skating field consisted of 148 athletes, 74 male and 74 female, amongst 32 nations.
How many medals did the American figure skaters win at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
At the Winter Olympics, Team USA won a total of three medals – one gold, silver and bronze.
Nathan Chen won a gold medal in the men’s singles competition and was part of the silver medal team event.
The second-place team also consisted of Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Zachary Donohue, Madison Chock, and Evan Bates.
Zachary Donohue and Madison Hubbell won bronze in the ice dance event, joining Chen as two-time 2022 Winter Olympics medalists.
Why is Nathan Chen the “Quad King”?
American Nathan Chen is known as the “Quad King” because he was the first figure skater to successfully complete five different “quad jumps” in competition.
The five jumps he landed include the toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, and Lutz.
Were any records set in figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
The International Skating Union (ISU) uses the term high scores instead of world records. Here are some of the new high scores from the Games.
USA’s Nathan Chen set a new men’s individual event high score with 113.97 points.
China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong set a high score in pairs with 82.83 points.
France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron set a high score in the ice dance competition with 90.83 points.
What happened to Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva?
After helping the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to a gold-medal finish in the team event, Kamila Valieva had a positive doping test from Dec. 25 come to light. She tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug typically prescribed to older patients with heart conditions.
The 15-year-old was cleared to compete despite the positive test result, sparking immediate reactions from many around the world.
The International Olympic Committee announced before the women’s singles event that if Valieva were to land a place on the podium, the post-event flower ceremony and medal ceremony would be completely skipped.
Valieva committed multiple mistakes in the women’s free skate that placed her fourth, clearing the way for the medalists to be celebrated at the Capital Indoor Stadium.
If the final ruling has Valieva suspended and her results from the Winter Olympics are voided, the skaters in the individual event that fell after her on the leaderboard will move up one spot.
