BEIJING — Realistically, Team USA wasn’t going to win gold in the team figure skating event. Sunday’s frustrating performance just made that clear.
Two days after three Friday sessions unexpectedly left the Americans in first place by two points, Karen Chen and Vincent Zhou helped give Russia a lead it is unlikely to relinquish, 45 points to 42. The U.S. needed to keep it close in the women’s short program and men’s free skate to stay within a mistake of the Russians. Instead, both Americans stumbled, figuratively and literally.
“I'm definitely disappointed,” said Chen after she fell on a triple toe loop, typically a reliable jump for her, and finished fifth. Zhou gave his performance a B-minus, perhaps a generous grade given that he bailed on a quadruple jump attempt and finished third. “It wasn’t a lights-out skate, obviously,” he said. “But it wasn’t a disaster. I’m better-trained than to let a disaster happen.”
