Everett, USA

 

#GPFigure                     #FigureSkating

GPFS Nathan Chen USA MichalBrezina CZE Sergei Voronov RUS 2018 CREDIT ISU 1052640854

Michal Brezina (CZE), Nathan Chen (USA) and Sergei Voronov (RUS) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

World champion Nathan Chen (USA) cruised to the men’s gold, taking the title with 40 points to spare. The Czech Republic’s Michal Brezina claimed the silver, his first Grand Prix medal in four years, and Sergei Voronov of Russia moved up one spot to earn the bronze.

GPFS USA Nathan Chen USA 2018 CREDIT GettyImages 1052642130

Nathan Chen (USA) 2018 ©Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images

Chen delivered in his Free Skating to “Land of All”, reeling off a quadruple Lutz, quad toe-triple toe, quad toe-double toe-double loop as well as a triple Axel and four more triple jumps. The world champion scored 189.99 points for his routine and racked up 280.57 points overall. “I’m happy with today’s skate, definitely a lot of improvement from my last competition and that’s really my goal throughout the seasons – just keep on improving from competition to competition,” the 19-year-old said. “In terms of the number of quads, the program was definitely watered down, but I think that in terms of where I am at in the season right now, it’s definitely perfect. I’m looking to add more, but at the same time build on everything else.”

GPFS USA Michal Brezina CZE 2018 CREDIT ISU 1052644208

Michal Brezina (CZE) 2018©International Skating Union

Brezina’s program to “I’m a Man” and “Thunderstruck” featured a quadruple Salchow-double toeloop combination as well as a triple Axel-double toe and three more clean triple jumps, but he doubled his second Salchow and stepped out of the second triple Axel. The 2013 European bronze medalist picked up 157.42 points for his effort, which added up to 239.51 points. “For me, it was a pretty good step up from my last competition in Salt Lake City and even from the last season, it’s a better start than in my first Grand Prix,” the 28-year-old said. “There are still some things that need work, but for the first Grand Prix it is good. I could have skated a little better, but it’s the beginning of the season and there is still time to build.”

GPFS Serge Voronov RUS 2018 CREDIT ISU 1052644508

Sergei Voronov (RUS) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

Performing to “Way Down We Go” by Kaleo, Voronov hit a quad-triple toeloop and four solid triples but fell on a triple Axel and his quad loop attempt was downgraded. The 31-year-old was ranked fourth in the Free Skating with 148.26 points but moved up to third on 226.44 points total. “I can’t say that I’m satisfied as there were mistakes in the short and in the free program, but compared to previous, domestic competitions, it is a step forward. It’s hard work, but there is room to grow for me to not fall behind my friends and competitors,” Voronov said.

The 2018 world junior bronze medalist Matteo Rizzo (ITA) placed fourth in his Grand Prix debut followed by 2017 world junior champion Vincent Zhou (USA). Nam Nguyen (CAN) came sixth (212.99 points). Julian Zhi Jie Yee (MAS), who surprisingly finished third in the Short Program, dropped to seventh after some errors.