MEN'S COMPETITION UNDERWAY IN PYEONGCHANG

Adam Rippon led the way for Team USA on the first day of the men’s competition at Gangneung Ice Arena Friday morning.

Rippon scored 87.95 en route to a seventh-place finish in the short program.

"I am just so excited that I have been able to skate so well these Olympic Games,” Rippon said. “To be here is like a dream come true and to come out here and perform and put on some of my best performances makes it even sweeter and even better."

Vincent Zhou earned a personal best 84.53 points in his debut on Olympic ice and is in 12th place. Zhou opened his program with a quadruple Lutz-triple toe combination, marking the first time a quadruple Lutz was successfully landed at the Olympic Games.

"I felt that it went pretty well,” Zhou said. “There were some things that were tight and a little bit stiff, because I was really nervous. Overall I skated well. I feel l performed well and did the best that I could.”

Nathan Chen finished a disappointing 17th place, scoring 82.27 points in his first competition since the men’s short program in the team event.

“[It] just was rough,” Chen said. “I did all the right stuff going into it; it should have been different, but stuff happens. Take it for what it is and move on.”

The men’s free skate takes place on Saturday at 10 a.m. (Friday, 8 p.m. ET).

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