Nathan Chen set to return to two previous programs for U.S. nationals
The three-time world champ confirmed he will skate to "La Boheme" and an Elton John medley in Nashville, but said that his Olympic programs are not yet chosen.
Figure Skating
Nathan Chen is making big changes ahead of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships next month.
The reigning and three-time world champion - who has won five straight American titles - confirmed that he will return to the programs he had choreographed for the truncated 2019-20 season.
That means fans will see Chen skate to "La Boheme" in the short program and an Elton John medley centered around "Rocketman" for the free, the short having been choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne and the free by Marie-France Dubreuil and Sam Chouinard.
"I'm still playing around with different programs, but I really like the 2019-20 programs," Chen, 22, told reporters in a media call on Monday (20 December). "I never got the chance to compete them at worlds [that season]. It does make sense to have the option to have these programs and I really like that content."
"But further on in the season? TBD."
Chen later confirmed that which programs he will skate to at the coming Winter Olympic Games will be a decision he makes after the U.S. national championships.
The American had started the year with two programs by Bourne, a short program that was a mix of "Eternity" and "Nemesis", the latter portion a nod to his 2017-18 Olympic season program. His free skate was Mozart-themed.
Skating to that music, Chen won the bronze at Skate America behind teammate Vincent Zhou and PyeongChang 2018 silver medallist Uno Shoma, his first lost since the 2018 Games - breaking a streak of 10 consecutive international wins. He would rebound the following week to win at Skate Canada International.
"In the past period of time I've been playing with different layouts and different programs that I've done," Chen said of the nearly two months he's been away from competition ice.
He qualified for the eventually-cancelled Grand Prix Final earlier this month, and will lead Zhou, Jason Brown and other American men as the favourite for gold as three will be chosen to head to Beijing 2022, a selection for the U.S. team that hangs not just on nationals but on a skater's recent body of work.
The U.S. Championships are 6-9 January in Nashville, Tennessee.