Back in the 70s and 80s, four-peats in men’s skating at the US Figure Skating Championships seemed to just be a given. Charlie Tickner won 4 in a row from 1977 to 1980, then Scott Hamilton won in 1981 to 1984, then Brian Boitano won from 1985 to 1988. But no skater has done that in the men’s event since. This week, Nathan Chen has the chance to four-peat - and he’s heavily, HEAVILY favored to do so.
US Nationals predictions
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GOLD Nathan Chen - The last time Chen was in Greensboro, he was 15 skating in his first senior Nationals and finished eighth. And it would remain the only time where he’s finished off the podium at any level at the US Championships. Five years later, he comes in as a two-time World champion and has been defeated all of once over the past three seasons in any competition. His dominance has been nothing short of incredible, and his consistency and drive have really proven to be his greatest asset. This week has everything to do with keeping up appearances as he prepares to defend his World title. Expect the spectacular.
SILVER Jason Brown - After a concussion in the preseason that delayed his preparations for the season, Brown has had a very up-and-down few months, starting with a comeback silver at Skate America, then a mistake-filled fifth-place finish at NHK Trophy, and then somewhere in between with a win at Golden Spin. He’s had another few weeks of training, which can go a long way in his return to the podium.
BRONZE Camden Pulkinen - I’m going for it. This season has been a revelatory one for Pulkinen - he’s found consistency in his quad toe, he’s made strides in his confidence in competition, and he’s put down some solid results, including a fourth-place finish at Skate Canada. With Zhou’s readiness uncertain and Hiwatashi’s consistency not quite there yet, it really could continue to be Pulkinen’s breakout year.
4. Tomoki Hiwatashi - US Nationals last year was where Hiwatashi found his stride, and it was the beginning of his upward trajectory all the way to the Junior World title. This season so far has not allowed him to carry that momentum, as his inconsistency has just kept him from making a solid run so far, particularly in the short program. We saw him rise to the occasion last year and finish as the surprise pewter medalist. Can he figure it out again this season? It’s really a perfect opportunity for him to step up and onto the World team for the first time.
5. Vincent Zhou - The complete mysterious entity here, Zhou hasn’t competed since Japan Open in early October. By his own admission, he doesn’t really even know what to expect in Greensboro, with a break from training during the fall and a move to Toronto to work with a new coach over the past couple of months. At his best, he is a solid silver medal favorite, but his competition readiness is very uncertain right now. That said, he knows that he doesn’t need to pull out all the stops to make it back onto the World team, so a more conservative approach may suit him best this week.
6. Alex Krasnozhon - It’s been a bit of a frustrating season for Krasnozhon so far. Even though he’s been practicing well, he hasn’t been able to show it in competition. In his two Grand Prix events, he was ninth at Skate America and tenth at Rostelecom Cup.
7. Andrew Torgashev - At his best, Torgashev is very much top five material here - he’s got such talent and a knack for music. But we’ve seen his mind play tricks on him in more than one instance. He put down two fourth-place finishes on the JGP series earlier in the season, but in both instances, he very much had the opportunity to walk away with the win.
8. Jimmy Ma - Tenth last year at Nationals, Ma has a lot of the goods that could get him up into a top 6 finish. But for him, it’s always about whether or not he has the belief that he belongs among the best here. His fourth-place finish at Finlandia earlier this season showed that he is capable of. He could be a dark horse.
9. Joonsoo Kim - Bronze on the junior level last year, Kim has made some big improvements this season, winning Pacific Coasts on his way to his first senior Nationals.
10. Yaroslav Paniot - After skating for Ukraine for his entire career, Paniot has made the switch to the US, where he’s trained for much of the past six years. This will be his first US Nationals.