Skip to main content

Here’s a recap of figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics

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.

Ariel Atkins returned to Team USA for second stint with an increased role

Atkins returned to Team USA with an increased role originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonWASHINGTON -- Playing for Team USA and representing your country is an honor only a few athletes get to experience throughout their competitive careers. That is partly why Ariel Atkins holds her roster spot with such reverence and couldn't even put it into words when she first made the team for the Olympics in 2021. But this time when she made the team, Atkins wasn't the rookie jumping on board to play with esteemed Team USA. This time, Atkins knew the ropes and was one of the players the United States relied upon in FIBA World Cup Qualification the second week of February.She also knew the ropes because the tournament was hosted in her home WNBA venue, the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast D.C.As Team USA qualified for their 16th straight World Cup, Atkins' role was completely different than her first time around on the national team. "The first thing we said to her when we walked into the gym is 'you're a vet now. You're a vet,' and she looked and she's like, 'okay, I can do that,' Team USA head coach Cheryl Reeve said during the tournament. "And what I've seen from her is she's got a maturity now, she's played on a very good team, very well-coached team. It shows when she plays and we've just really count(ed) on her and we put her in a key role defensively tonight."Where Atkins was shuffled down to one of the last reserves in the Tokyo Olympics, she was one of the four holdovers to participate in this qualifying tournament. That meant far more playing time than the six minutes she averaged in Japan.Atkins was named a starter against both Belgium and Puerto Rico for the D.C. contests. And while this wasn't her first rodeo with Team USA, a lot was still different. "It's a lot of different people. There's not one person on that roster that I played with during the W's season, so is definitely different," Atkins said who played with then-teammate Tina Charles in Tokyo. "It's a little crazy. Definitely, I think the biggest difference that I noticed was I'm able to take in more information because I've been here before so being able to kind of catch on quicker has been super helpful. But I got to use my voice more. I mean, since I have been here before."Her role was similar to that on the hometown Washington Mystics; an off-ball scorer that is stout on the defensive end. As a starter, she posted 10.5 ppg with eight-for-14 shooting from the field in two games for Team USA. She also added three steals on the American squad that dominated play on the defensive end.Like she did in Washington, people have taken notice of the young guard when she was given the opportunity. Her basketball intellect is greater than her age, 25, and plays her role to the team's needs."She's just trustworthy. It's probably one of the greatest things you can say about a player," Reeve said. "Overall that's a player that I trust. I put her in spots to make passes. I put her in spots to make shots, put her in spots defensively. So Mike (Thibault)'s very fortunate he made a hell of a pick when he drafted Ariel Atkins."This made two years in a row that Atkins has represented her country. She'll likely be chosen again for the team when the FIBA World Cup is held in Australia later this year. Her team will be looking for their fourth straight World Cup title and Atkin's first.Based on how she has performed thus far, there are certainly many more national team call-ups on the horizon."Yeah for sure, (it) definitely (has settled in)," Atkins said. "I think with that comes great responsibility. So all the excitement is like yeah, you're thankful for it, but you know it's a big responsibility."
Read Next Story