US Figure Skating Olympics 2022: Top Performers, Highlights from Thursday

The first two competitions for the Winter Olympics figure skating team event took place on Thursday night in Beijing. 

The United States is in the lead with 20 points. The Russian Olympic Committee follows with 17 points and Italy rounds out the top three with 14.

First, Nathan Chen topped the men's short program with a brilliant run to earn 10 points for the United States. He scored a career-best 111.71, the second-highest short program score ever behind 111.82 by Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2020 Four Continents Championships.

Chen is chasing his first Olympics gold medal, the only gold medal that has eluded him throughout his senior career. After his run, he spoke about the difference in his mindset compared to 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

"Last Olympics, I was just three senior internationals in, I hadn't really competed internationally, so just a very large lack of experience," Chen said. "But now coming into this, I'm really happy to be here, very excited to be here and surrounded by amazing teammates."

Next up was the rhythm dance competition, which was won by Team USA's Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, The three-time ice dance world medalists had a strong showing with a score of 86.56 to earn 10 more points for the United States. 

Russian Olympic Committee members and reigning world champions Viktoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov were the favorites coming into the competition and finished second with 85.05. Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri placed third with 83.83.

It's the third time that 10 countries have qualified for the team event. There will be men's, women's, pairs and ice dance competitions. Teams earn 1-10 points based on placement in each discipline, with first place earning 10 points and 10th place earning one point.

The five teams with the lowest scores after the short program will be eliminated. The top five teams will advance to the free skate to compete for the medals.