American Nathan Chen, a gold medal favorite entering the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, stumbled to a score of 82.27 in the short program portion of men's figure skating Friday night at Gangneung Ice Arena. Chen, who earned the nickname the "Quad King," stumbled on his opening element, the quad lutz, before faltering on his quad toeloop and a triple axel later in the program.
One of the first competitors to skate, American Vincent Zhou landed the first quad lutz in Winter Olympic history and received a season-best score of 84.53. At 17 years old, Zhou is the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team and performed to "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol.
The eldest of the U.S. men's figure skaters, Adam Rippon landed back-to-back triples to open his routine, set to "Let Me Think About It" by Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand, and received a score of 87.95.
Superstar Skier Mikaela Shiffrin, prevented from skiing her signature event once already, finished fourth in the slalom.
Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis finished fourth in her event, continuing her hard-luck career at the Olympics.
The sport's most decorated rider, Jacobellis has failed to return to the podium since settling for silver after an ill-advised jump in 2006 while she was clear in the lead.
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"Fourth place is fourth place at the Olympics," Jacobellis said.
Here are today's four events to watch in Pyeongchang:
[NATL-LA] Photos: Olympic Figure Skater Adam Rippon Through the Years
1. Americans Fall Short in Short Program
Nathan Chen, who is from Utah but trains in Southern California, had an Olympic inaugural to forget when he fell during a triple axel in the men's short program of the team event. His shot at redemption fell short when he stumbled to a score of 82.27 in the short program.
Los Angeles' Adam Rippon scored a 87.95. A first-time Olympian at 28 years old, Rippon explained what has allowed him to skate so well late in his career.
"I can't explain witchcraft," Rippon said. "I just feel like I'm coming into my own. I'm confident in who I am and what I'm doing. I'm having a great time."
Vincent Zhou, who trains in Riverside, scored a season best of 84.53.
Chen, Rippon and Zhou advance to Saturday's free skate.
2. Mikaela Shiffrin Finishes Fourth
Four years ago, at age 18, Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest-ever Olympic slalom champion. Now, her hopes to become the first person to win the event at two consecutive Olympics were dashed when she took fourth place. The windy, wintry weather has forced Shiffrin to wait a few extra days to ski her signature event.
Shiffrin ended up on top in the giant slalom after two electric runs Thursday morning (Wednesday night in the U.S.).
Shiffrin is one of the Winter Olympics' marquee athletes, and fans have waited anxiously for this race. The slalom is her specialty: Last year, she became the first woman to win three consecutive slalom world titles in 78 years.
In the men's Super-G, Matthias Mayer broke Norway's 16-year grip on the title with his victory Friday at the Pyeongchang Games.
The Austrian skier won the speed race by 0.13 seconds from Beat Feuz of Switzerland, who added the silver medal to his bronze from downhill a day earlier.
Andrew Weibrecht could not make it three straight Olympics with a medal in Super-G, having taken bronze in 2010 and silver four years ago. The often-injured American missed a gate after flying too far off a jump. Ted Ligety of the United States, the 2013 world champion in super-G, also failed to finish.
3. Team USA Beats Slovakia in Men's Hockey
After a shocking 3-2 loss to Slovenia in its opening game, the U.S. men's hockey team beat Slovakia on Friday (Thursday night in the U.S.), 2-1. Team USA will face off against the athletes from Russia Feb. 17.
Ryan Donato scored two power-play goals and Troy Terry dominated with his speed as college players led the United States to an important victory.
The men's team is made up mostly of little-known players — college athletes and Americans playing professionally overseas — because the National Hockey League decided that it would not allow its players to participate for the first time since 1998. That's forced comparisons to the famed 1980 Miracle on Ice team that won the Olympic gold medal.
4. Lindsey Jacobellis Takes Fourth Place in Snowboard Cross
Italy's Michela Moioli won the gold medal in Olympic women's snowboardcross Friday, overtaking American Lindsey Jacobellis about halfway down the course, then beating the rest of the field to the finish line.
Jacobellis continued her hard-luck career at the Olympics.
