Kerry carries Australian hopes in star-studded figure skating field

Beijing: Australian figure skater Brendan Kerry will take on the best in the world in the free skating final after gliding his way through a field that included a dual-Olympic gold medallist and a three-time world champion.

Kerry’s score of 87.79 on Tuesday helped him comfortably progress to the next stage of competition as he twirled, spun and danced his way across the ice to Tom Walker’s Leave a Light On. Kerry bounced back from a disappointing practice earlier on Tuesday where he struggled to nail his signature quad toe.

Brendan Kerry on the ice in Beijing.Credit: Getty Images

In competition, Kerry, the Australian flag bearer, kept his head and body rock solid above his skates – allowing his feet to whirl across the ice as he spun across Beijing’s capital indoor stadium.

There was only one hiccup when he briefly lost control of his right arm, but the 27-year-old regained his composure to finish off his session with poise.

Kerry said there had been such a big build-up to his third Games that he had not had the chance to take it all in.

“When the music starts and it’s like OK, think about what I have to think about for this jump,” he said. “Then I felt like as soon as that finished then everything kind of rushed up.”

Kerry cruised through to the next stage of competition.Credit: Getty Images

He said he had been very focused on his own emotions, but had received a huge amount of love and support from home.

“I really feel like this Olympics, this event today, it’s for everybody. I’m doing it for them and I’m doing it for me.”

Kerry will return to the ice for the free skating on Thursday morning where Japan’s “ice prince” Hanyu Yuzuru and Nathan Chen of the United States are expected to battle it out for the gold. Chen, a three-time world champion, will be attempting to snatch the gold from Hanyu – who has won the past two Olympics – in one of the defining contests of these Games.

Hanyu will be looking to become the first figure skater to win three consecutive gold medals in a century. The skater is an icon in Japan and is often mobbed by adoring fans but faces his greatest test to date against Chen who set the world record on Tuesday with a score of 113.97 in the short program to beat Hanyu’s previous world mark.

“Ice prince”: Japan star Yuzuru Hanyu.Credit: Getty Images

“I’m just elated,” Chen told NBC. “Last Olympics both of my short programs didn’t go the way that I wanted. [This] feels really good; this means a lot.”

Hanyu, who scored 95.15 to qualify in 8th, said he was tripped up by a hole in the ice during one routine that he uncharacteristically did not land perfectly.

“When I took off, I was in some hole [made] by another skater’s jump. It was unlucky. I’m feeling really comfortable. Honestly, it feels like I didn’t even make a mistake,” he said.

“I don’t know, is it bad karma? Did I do something to be disliked by the ice? That’s how I feel.”

The pair will skate off from 12pm AEDT on Thursday morning.

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