A young adult male figure skater in a red long-sleeve skating costume competes on an indoor ice rink during the Olympic event under bright, even lighting. 4:17
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"Rocket Man" carries Nathan Chen to Olympic gold

Four years before Beijing, Nathan Chen stood 17th after the Olympic short program in PyeongChang. Now he takes the ice in red, to a mix of Elton John hits. more

The music is a remix of three songs: "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Bennie and the Jets." Most of the big jumps come during "Rocket Man," and one fan admits to crying there. He looked so free, they say, as if it were only him and the ice.

A skater in a red sparkly top and black pants stands on the ice with his arms spread wide and his head tilted back. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Chen's free skate is set to remixed Elton John hits, with most big jumps in "Rocket Man."

Fans keep coming back to how closely he skates with the music. One jump in particular gets people talking. He lands it right on a beat, and fans keep pointing to those same few seconds.

It's a long way from PyeongChang. Besides that 17th place in the short program, he placed fourth in the team event's short program there and finished fifth in the singles. This time, one fan says, he came in with a different mindset. Just have fun.

And he does. Late in the program he lets himself go and dances with the music, grinning. Several fans say you can see the moment he knows the gold is his.

A young adult male figure skater in a red long-sleeve skating costume competes on an indoor ice rink during the Olympic event under bright, even lighting. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Four years before Beijing, Nathan Chen stood 17th after the Olympic short program in PyeongChang.

He finishes with 332.60 points and the men's singles gold. At 22 he is the second American in 30 years to win it, and his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah, has an Olympic champion.

The Olympic announcers reach for the biggest names they can find and compare him to Tom Brady, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. Fans keep it simpler. They call the program joyful, and one says it brings a goofy smile to their face every time.

A dark-haired skater in a red outfit and a black glove points forward with a wide smile. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Chen wins the men's singles gold in Beijing, four years after PyeongChang.

Elton John noticed, too. He sent his congratulations to Chen for winning gold while skating to "Rocket Man." It's hard to beat a review from the man who sang it first.