GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Nathan Chen finally admitted the pressure of being the face of American figure skating got to him, winding him up so tight for his short program that it ended in what he described as a “disaster.”

All that pressure was gone for his free skate.

Out of medals contention and finally skating with a clear mind, the 18-year-old prodigy landed an unparalleled six quadruple jumps in a historic performance at the Pyeongchang Olympics. His personal-best score of 215.08 points Saturday left him feeling just a little bit vindicated, even if his 297.35 total would leave him well behind the medal contenders skating later in the day.

“As much as I tried to deny it, I think I did feel the pressure a lot, thinking about medals and placement and things like that, things that were entirely out of my control,” Chen explained. “That just tightened me up, made me really cautious on the ice, and that’s not the way to skate.”

Chen had been the best American hope for a figure skating gold medal at the Winter Games, becoming the face of not only U.S. Figure Skating but ad campaigns for numerous Olympic sponsors. His coy smile, youthful exuberance and uncanny ability to land the hardest four-revolution jumps in the sport made for an ideal marketing package of substance and charm.

Photo shoots. Interview requests. The constant attention and adoration that comes with the hopes of an entire nation resting on your shoulders. It all became a little much for him to handle.

That became evident when Chen struggled through his short program as part of the team event, which still helped the U.S. win the bronze medal. And it was on full display Friday, when he failed to land a single clean jump in the individual competition and fell to 17th out of the 24 skaters to advance.

Looking to defend

Japanese sensation Yuzuru Hanyu heads into the free skate at Gangneung Ice Arena aiming to become the first men’s figure skater to defend his Olympic title since Dick Button in 1952.

Hanyu set an Olympic record with 111.68 points during his mesmerizing short program Friday, and he carries a roughly four-point lead over Spain’s Javier Fernandez into Saturday’s free skate.

Shoma Uno could give Japan another medal. He was third with 104.17 points in his short program.

No medal for Vonn

There will be no medal for American skier Lindsey Vonn in the Olympic super-G at the Pyeongchang Games.

She had a fast run going before a mistake near the bottom cost her valuable time. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein leads after the opening eight racers.

Vonn will have another chance in the downhill.

At age 33, she is trying to become the oldest woman to win an Olympic Alpine medal.