Despite finishing third in the United States championships in 2014, Mirai Nagasu found herself sitting at home watching the Sochi Games with her friend and fellow skater, Adam Rippon, eating hamburgers. She finished second in the U.S. championships last month, however, finally earning her Olympic invitation.
Your guide to watching Mirai Nagasu on Tuesday
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Tuesday night, she’ll take the first step toward earning individual honors at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang by skating in the ladies’ short program. She’s the second American to take the ice and will do so at approximately 10:52 p.m. ET. You can watch her performance on NBC or live stream it on your computer or mobile device. Bradie Tennell skate first, scoring 64.01, with Karen Chen set for about 11:05 p.m.
Nagasu already has one medal around her neck, however. During the team competition a little more than a week ago, she landed the first clean triple axel by a U.S. woman and finished second in the ladies’ free skate portion of the event. The feat helped the Americans earn a bronze medal.
“I knew in my heart this day would come,” Nagasu said following landing the triple axel in the Olympics (via IceNetwork). “I will remember this forever.”
She scored 137.53 in that, a new season best, though she still finished 20 points behind gold medal favorite, Russian athlete Alina Zagitova (she’ll skate at 12:08 a.m.). Nagasu’s season-best in the short program (65.17) is a few points below several of her competitors, meaning she’ll have some gains to make if she’s to end up near the top of the standings after the first day of competition.
How to watch Mirai Nagasu in the ladies’ figure skating short program
Time: 10:52 p.m. ET, Tuesday
TV: NBC
Online: Live stream
Why the triple axel is such a big deal
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