Medals awarded following men’s free skate

Japan took the gold and silver medals in men’s figure skating Saturday as Yuzuru Hanyu successfully defended his 2014 Olympic title and Shoma Uno won silver.

Hanyu, who set an Olympic men’s short program record with the 111.68 he posted Friday, skated to a 206.17 in the men’s free skate to capture gold once again.

In doing so, he became the first to win back-to-back Olympic golds in men’s figure skating since Dick Button did so in 1952.

Javier Fernandez of Spain took bronze in the event.

The story for most of the event, though, was 18-year-old American Nathan Chen, who bounced back from a disappointing performance in the short program to lead the free skate standings deep into Saturday’s competition.

The Olympic, seen as a gold medal contender coming into the PyeongChang Games, ultimately finished fifth.

Coming into the free skate in 17th position, Chen landed six quads in his free skate performance, jumping immediately to the top of the standings.

The two-time U.S. national champion’s personal best free skate score of 215.08 wasn’t quite enough to hold on as the top competitors later took to the ice.

China’s Jin Boyang, the fifth to last skater to compete, knocked Chen into second place, and then Hanyu and Fernandez knocked him completely off the podium.

The other Americans in the free skate, Vincent Zhou and Adam Rippon, finished sixth and 10th, respectively.