The men's singles figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 8 and 10 February at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, and featured 29 skaters from 20 nations. Nathan Chen of the United States won the gold medal, while Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, both of Japan, won the silver and bronze, respectively. In addition to setting a new world record score in the short program, Nathan Chen found redemption after performing below expectations at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he had been predicted to win the gold medal.

Background 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 from at least late 2011 through February 2014, when Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi. 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. Under a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in December 2020, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to compete as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships for the next two years. On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russian athletes would compete under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics.

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. Nathan Chen entered the 2022 Winter Olympics favored to win the gold medal. After what he called a "disastrous" performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Chen had gone on to win three World Championship titles and four U.S. Championship titles, bringing his record to six consecutive national titles. Chen's greatest contenders were expected to be Yuzuru Hanyu, Yuma Kagiyama, and Shoma Uno, all of Japan. Hanyu, who entered the Olympics as a two-time reigning Olympic champion, had missed most of the season while recovering from injury, his only competition this season being the 2021–22 Japan Championships.

Qualification

Twenty-three quota spots in the men's event were awarded based on the results at the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships. Only twenty-three spots out of the possible twenty-four were awarded, because while Yan Han and Jin Boyang of China both qualified for the free skate, they only earned enough points to qualify for one Olympic entry. Therefore, the extra quota spot was made available at the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy along with the other six slots originally allocated. +Qualifying nations in men's singles Event Skatersper Qualifying NOCs Totalskaters 2021 World Championships 3 23 2 1 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy 1 7 Total 30

Required performance elements Men performed their short programs on 8 February. Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds, the short program had to include the following elements: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface.

The twenty-four highest scoring skaters after the short program advanced to the free skating, which they performed on 10 February. The free skate could last no more than 4 minutes, 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 a flying spin, and one a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.

Judging

Skaters were judged according to the required technical elements of their program (such as jumps and spins), as well as the overall presentation of their program, based on five program components (skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and musical interpretation). Each technical element in a figure skating performance was assigned a predetermined base point value and scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from −5 to +5 based on the quality of its execution. Each Grade of Execution (GOE) from –5 to +5 was assigned a value as indicated on the Scale of Values. For example, a triple Axel was worth a base value of 8.00 points, and a GOE of +3 was worth 2.40 points, so a triple Axel with a GOE of +3 earned 10.40 points. The judging panel's GOE for each element was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores). The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a Total Elements Score. At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on the five aforementioned program components and assigned each a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments. 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 chart below; the results were added together to generate a total Program Component Score.

+Program component factoring Discipline Short program Free skate Men 1.00 2.00 Deductions were applied for certain violations, such as time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. The Total Elements Score and Program Component Score were then added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater.

Results

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Short program Vincent Zhou of the United States was forced to withdraw from the competition prior to the short program after testing positive for COVID-19.

The men's short program was held on 8 February. Nathan Chen of the United States, after what he called a "disastrous" performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics, set a new world record score in the short program with a dominant performance that including two quadruple jumps and a triple Axel. 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. "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. "Maybe... the ice had it in for me."

+Men's short program results Skater Nation 1 113.97 65.98 47.99 9.57 9.39 9.71 9.68 9.640.00 2 108.12 60.91 47.21 9.50 9.25 9.54 9.46 9.460.00 3 105.90 59.05 46.85 9.43 9.21 9.36 9.39 9.460.00 4 99.51 54.30 45.21 8.96 8.93 9.07 9.14 9.110.00 5 97.98 55.69 42.29 8.54 8.32 8.54 8.46 8.430.00 6 97.24 49.95 47.29 9.29 9.39 9.54 9.50 9.570.00 7 95.76 55.23 40.53 8.21 7.93 8.18 8.14 8.070.00 8 95.15 48.07 47.08 9.43 9.43 9.25 9.54 9.430.00 9 93.24 49.30 43.94 8.93 8.68 8.68 8.79 8.860.00 10 93.00 49.93 43.07 8.57 8.29 8.68 8.71 8.820.00 11 90.98 51.62 39.36 8.07 7.32 8.04 8.00 7.930.00 12 90.64 48.70 41.94 8.29 8.29 8.36 8.54 8.460.00 13 88.63 46.71 41.92 8.43 8.21 8.39 8.43 8.460.00 14 86.74 47.28 40.46 8.21 7.79 8.14 8.14 8.181.00 15 86.11 45.08 41.03 8.32 8.00 8.25 8.25 8.210.00 16 85.30 43.08 42.22 8.43 8.18 8.46 8.54 8.610.00 17 84.79 45.93 38.86 7.82 7.50 7.93 7.79 7.820.00 18 84.15 47.14 37.01 7.43 7.11 7.50 7.43 7.540.00 19 79.69 43.08 36.61 7.32 7.11 7.43 7.32 7.430.00 20 78.54 41.22 37.32 7.46 7.14 7.57 7.54 7.610.00 21 78.49 41.92 36.57 7.46 7.18 7.32 7.32 7.290.00 22 78.11 41.08 37.03 7.46 7.21 7.50 7.43 7.430.00 23 77.05 36.76 41.29 8.36 8.18 8.11 8.39 8.251.00 24 76.16 39.76 36.40 7.39 7.07 7.36 7.29 7.290.00 25 75.19 36.69 39.50 8.04 7.71 7.75 8.04 7.961.00 26 68.01 33.02 35.99 7.39 6.96 7.18 7.32 7.141.00 27 65.69 30.75 35.94 7.36 7.04 7.11 7.29 7.141.00 28 65.29 28.79 36.50 7.36 7.00 7.21 7.50 7.430.00 29 62.77 24.99 37.78 7.71 7.39 7.36 7.68 7.640.00 Withdrew from competition

Free skating The men's free skating was held on 10 February. Nathan Chen 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 won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Yuzuru Hanyu, 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 third place in the free skate and fourth place overall. Chen praised Hanyu for having "progressed the sport in so many ways" upon seeing Hanyu attempt the quadruple Axel.

+Men's free skate results Skater Nation 1 218.63 121.41 97.22 9.71 9.54 9.79 9.71 9.860.00 2 201.93 107.99 93.94 9.50 9.18 9.36 9.50 9.430.00 3 188.06 99.62 90.44 9.25 9.18 8.75 9.25 8.792.00 4 187.43 103.35 84.08 8.39 8.18 8.54 8.50 8.430.00 5 187.10 96.24 91.86 9.32 9.07 9.04 9.29 9.211.00 6 184.00 87.66 96.34 9.46 9.50 9.75 9.64 9.820.00 7 182.87 93.59 90.28 9.07 8.96 8.93 9.11 9.071.00 8 179.45 97.23 82.22 8.43 7.79 8.50 8.18 8.210.00 9 178.37 94.81 83.56 8.46 8.11 8.43 8.39 8.390.00 10 172.37 84.13 88.24 8.93 8.61 8.86 8.86 8.860.00 11 170.64 85.92 84.72 8.46 8.36 8.50 8.54 8.500.00 12 167.41 84.75 83.66 8.32 8.11 8.36 8.50 8.541.00 13 163.41 81.69 82.72 8.36 7.93 8.32 8.36 8.391.00 14 162.71 80.15 83.56 8.50 8.14 8.21 8.50 8.431.00 15 161.80 76.60 86.20 8.68 8.46 8.57 8.68 8.711.00 16 160.01 83.51 76.50 7.79 7.36 7.71 7.71 7.680.00 17 158.90 76.92 82.98 8.32 8.07 8.21 8.50 8.391.00 18 156.28 79.48 78.80 8.04 7.82 7.61 8.07 7.862.00 19 155.04 80.76 74.28 7.57 7.18 7.50 7.46 7.430.00 20 143.73 71.35 72.38 7.36 7.04 7.18 7.36 7.250.00 21 142.24 67.60 74.64 7.57 7.18 7.50 7.50 7.570.00 22 138.44 66.56 72.88 7.32 7.04 7.29 7.36 7.431.00 23 136.42 64.72 71.70 7.32 6.96 7.07 7.29 7.210.00 24 127.65 57.17 71.48 7.36 6.96 6.96 7.21 7.251.00

Overall +Men's results Rank Skater Nation Total SP FS 332.60 1 113.97 1 218.63 310.05 2 108.12 2 201.93 293.00 3 105.90 5 187.10 4 283.21 8 95.15 3 188.06 5 282.38 4 99.51 7 182.87 6 281.24 6 97.24 6 184.00 7 278.07 12 90.64 4 187.43 8 274.13 7 95.76 9 178.37 9 270.43 11 90.98 8 179.45 10 268.62 5 97.98 11 170.64 11 265.61 9 93.24 10 172.37 12 254.80 10 93.00 15 161.80 13 252.71 16 85.30 12 167.41 14 250.15 14 86.74 13 163.41 15 248.82 15 86.11 14 162.71 16 247.53 13 88.63 17 158.90 17 244.80 17 84.79 16 160.01 18 239.19 18 84.15 19 155.04 19 233.33 23 77.05 18 156.28 20 222.22 21 78.49 20 143.73 21 220.78 20 78.54 21 142.24 22 218.13 19 79.69 22 138.44 23 212.58 24 76.16 23 136.42 24 205.76 22 78.11 24 127.65 25 75.19 25 75.19 Did not advanceto free skate 26 68.01 26 68.01 27 65.69 27 65.69 28 65.29 28 65.29 29 62.77 29 62.77 Withdrew from competition

Records

The following new record high score was set during this event. + Date Team Segment Score 8 February Nathan Chen Short program 113.97

Notes

References

Works cited