BEIJING – A hotly anticipated clash between Nathan Chen of the United States and Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu in the men’s Olympic figure skating begins on Tuesday in Beijing, with both laser-focused on grasping gold.
For Chen, it’s the only major prize that has eluded him, while 27-year-old Hanyu is after a third consecutive gold and an undisputed position as one of skating’s all-time greats.
Highly decorated skaters known for pushing the discipline to new limits, both are equipped with a devastating arsenal of physics-defying jumps matched with a gift for expressive performance.
Chen has already fired a warning shot in Beijing.
His score in Friday’s short programme in the team event was just 0.11 points off the world record — which is…
