In 2016, an independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed allegations that the Russian Olympic team had been involved in a state-sponsored doping program, active from at least late 2011 through August 2015.[1] On 9 December 2019, the WADA banned Russia from all international competitions after it found that data provided by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities in order to protect athletes involved in its doping scheme.[2] Under a ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to present themselves as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships until 16 December 2022.[3] On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russian athletes would compete under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[4]
The men's single skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 8 and 10 February at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.[5]Nathan Chen, entered the 2022 Winter Olympics again favored to win the gold medal. After what he called a "disastrous" performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics,[6] Chen had gone on to win three World Championship titles and four U.S. Championship titles, bringing his record to six consecutive national titles.[7] Chen's greatest contenders were expected to be Yuzuru Hanyu, Yuma Kagiyama, and Shoma Uno, all of Japan. Hanyu entered the Olympics as a two-time reigning Olympic champion. Hanyu had missed most of the season recovering from injury, his only competition this season being the 2021–22 Japan Championships.[8]
Twenty-three quota spots in the men's event were awarded based on results at the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships.[9] Only twenty-three spots out of twenty-four were awarded, because while Yan Han and Jin Boyang of China both qualified for the free skate, they only earned enough points for qualify for one Olympic entry.[10] Therefore, the extra quota spot was made available at the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy, along with the other six slots originally allocated.[11]
The top twenty-four highest scoring skaters after the short program advanced to the free skate, which the men performed on 10 February.[5] The free skate could last no more than 4 minutes,[12] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.[14]
For the 2021–2022 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance–such as jumps and spins–were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[15] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, the average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score.[16] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components–skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music–and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments.[17] The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[18]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[20] The total elements score and program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[21]
From left to right: The gold, silver, and bronze medalists from the men's event at the 2022 Winter Olympics: Nathan Chen of the United States (gold), Yuma Kagiyama of Japan (silver), and Shoma Uno of Japan (bronze)
Nathan Chen, after what he called a "disastrous" performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics, set a new world record in the short program, with a dominant performance that including two quadruple jumps and a triple Axel. "I was elated," Chen said in an interview. "Last Olympics, both short programs didn't go the way I wanted and to finally get the opportunity to skate the programs the way that I wanted, it feels really great. It means a lot."[6]Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, both of Japan, finished in second and third places, respectively. Yuzuru Hanyu, two-time Olympic gold medalist from Japan, made an error on his opening quadruple Salchow, ultimately receiving zero points for the element. His score of 95.15 – his lowest short program score since 2019 – landed him in eighth place.[6] "When I was about to go for the Salchow, there was a hole in the ice as I came around the curve, so I couldn't jump," Hanyu explained afterward. "Did I do something wrong? Maybe I felt the ice had it in for me."[23]
Nathan Chen of the United States won the free skate overwhelmingly, successfully performing five quadruple jumps in the process, including a quadruple Lutz – at that point, the most difficult jump in figure skating – which received nearly perfect scores from the judges. In addition to his jumping prowess, Chen received the highest program component scores, which measured skating skills, overall performance, and musicality. Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, both of Japan, won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.[25]
Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who had been in eighth place after the short program, attempted a quadruple Axel, which at that point had never been successfully performed in competition; however, he fell on it and later on a quadruple Salchow. Hanyu finished in fourth place in the free skate, and fourth place overall.[25] Chen stated that Hanyu had "progressed the sport in so many ways," upon seeing Hanyu attempting the quadruple Axel.[26]
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