What you missed at the Olympics: Nathan Chen crushes, heartbreak for Vincent Zhou – Yahoo Sports

Nathan Chen entered the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics a favorite for gold.

A disastrous short program that included a fall on a quadruple lutz left the U.S. figure skater in 17th place and out of the running before the free skate even started. His near-perfect free skate didn't matter for the medal count as he rallied for a fifth-place finish.

On Tuesday, Chen was back on Olympic ice for a short program, again a favorite for gold in Beijing. The result this time was dramatically different. The 22-year-old who helped lead the United States to team silver dazzled with a historic short program that tallied not just a personal best 113.97, but the highest score ever recorded in international competition.

Nathan Chen gave a historic effort in Tuesday's short program (Photo by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)

Chen was flawless in executing a routine that was technically the most difficult short program ever performed. When he landed a quad-lutz, triple-toe loop combination more than halfway through the program, he was well on his way to the top spot heading into Thursday's free skate (Wednesday night for American viewers).

He'll enter the free skate ahead of Japans Yuma Kagiyama, who scored a 108.12 in the short program.

While Chen made history, teammate Vincent Zhou was left to watch Tuesday's short program in isolation after he tested positive for COVID-19. The U.S. figure skater learned of his positive test after competing in the team competition and was isolated via the Beijing Games' protocols. He said via Instagram from a hotel room on Tuesday that he was an "emotional wreck."

Vincent Zhou found heartbreak ahead of the short program. (Mario Hommes/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Zhou, 21, will take home silver for his efforts in the team competition. But after years of preparation, his dreams of competing for an individual Olympic medal met a sudden, excruciating end.

Another U.S. athlete revealed her own bad health news following a scary scene on the slopes on Monday. Alpine skier Nina O'Brien crashed through the finish line of Monday's giant slalom and lay motionless for several minutes as medics tended to her. She left the mountain on a stretcher with little news on her condition available beyond a note from the U.S. ski team that she was "alert and responsive."

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On Tuesday, she revealed on Instagram that she suffered a compound fracture of her left tibia. She wrote that she was "heartbroken" but posted an image of herself in her hospital bed with a smile on her face.

If Tuesday was a gold-medal game preview, then go ahead and crown the Canadians.

Canada's women's hockey team rode a three-goal second period to a 4-2 win over the United States to close out pool play and earn the No. 1 seed for the elimination round. Goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens came up big while saving 51 American shots to ensure a perfect 4-0 record heading into the tournament.

The United States finished 3-1 in pool play and is widely expected to advance alongside Canada into a gold-medal game rematch on Feb. 17. If that's the case, Canada likely can't afford to allow 53 shots on goal for a second-straight matchup.

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What you missed at the Olympics: Nathan Chen crushes, heartbreak for Vincent Zhou - Yahoo Sports