Just over 20 hours after the first figure skating medals were determined at the 2022 Winter Olympics, it was already time to get the next competition underway.
The men's singles - the first of the four traditional skating disciplines to be held at these Games - did not disappoint.
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Yuzuru Hanyu was off to a rough start in defense of his 2014 and 2018 Olympic gold medals with a surprising mistake that leaves him in eighth going into the free skate.
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Nathan Chen took full advantage, though, and set a world record score with his stellar program.
Fellow American Jason Brown had successes of his own with a new personal best.
Editor's note: Re-live the event as it unfolded in real time with our live blog updates below.
Group 1 feat. Jin Boyang
9:05 p.m. ET: We join following the first group due to unexpected difficulties. To catch you up...
This group of six featured China's Jin Boyang, who was fourth at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games. He leads with a score of 90.98 points with a program that included two quadruple jumps: quad lutz and quad toeloop.
Vladimir Litvintsev of Azerbaijan is in second for the time being with 84.15 points, followed by Nikolaj Majorov of Sweden (78.54), Swiss Lukas Britschgi (76.16), Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko (65.29) and Canadian Roman Sadovsky (62.77).
Both Jin and Sadovsky have already appeared at these Games, competing for their countries in both segments of the team event.
Of the starting 29 men, 24 will advance to the free skate in two days. With his placement so far, Jin is the first to guarantee his spot there.
Group 2 feat. Brezina, Bychenko
9:20 p.m. ET: The second group includes Sihyeong Lee of Korea, Mexico's Donovan Carrillo, Ivan Shmuratko of Ukraine, Israeli Alexei Bychenko and Czech Republic's Michal Brezina.
American Vincent Zhou was placed in this group but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID on Monday. Zhou represented the U.S. in the free skate portion of the team event and is now an Olympic silver medalist, which joins his 2019 world bronze medal in men's singles.
9:41 p.m. ET: Lee has issues with all three of his jumps, including a fall, and is into fifth with 65.69 points. Carrillo, meanwhile, jumps for joy at his score of 79.69 and knows he has made history: the first skater from Mexico ever to qualify for the free skate!
9:47 p.m. ET: Shmuratko earns 78.11 points, into fifth.
9:53 p.m. ET: Competing at his third Winter Games - and having turned 34 two days ago - Bychenko scores a 68.01 and is seventh for now. He had a deduction for putting his hands down on his triple axel landing.
9:59 p.m. ET: Not to top Bychenko, but 31-year-old Brezina is already at his fourth Olympics. We saw him earlier in the Games in the men's short program part of the team event. Scores 75.19 points here (stepped out on opening triple jump, fell on triple-triple) and is seventh - currently on the bubble for making the free skate.
SEE MORE: Vincent Zhou out of Olympic men's competition due to positive COVID-19 test
Group 3 feat. Semenenko, Aymoz
10:05 p.m. ET: The third of five groups features Konstantin Milyukov for Belarus, Brendan Kerry for Australia, Adam Siao Him Fa for France, Mark Kondratyuk for ROC, Yevgeny Semenenko for ROC and Kevin Aymoz for France.
10:15 p.m. ET: Milyukov is fifth with 78.49 points and into the free skate.
10:20 p.m. ET: Kerry is at the Olympics for the third time, and this time he was a flag bearer for Australia in the Opening Ceremony. Fun fact: His mother, Monica MacDonald, competed in ice dance at the 1988 Winter Games. Johnny Weir calls him a "puppy sliding across the hardwood floor." He failed to make the free skate in 2014, made it in 2018 (20th overall) and this time... easily makes it! Into second place with 84.79.
10:26 p.m. ET: Siao Him Fa is the first today to attempt a quad in the second half - and he falls. An exhausting program lands him in second with 86.74 points.
10:32 p.m. ET: Kondratyuk is already an Olympic champion, competing in both segments of the team event to help ROC to the gold. He's into third with 86.11.
10:39 p.m. ET: Just a really great skate by Semenenko and - at last! - we have a new leader; 95.76 points. Jin is now second.
10:45 p.m. ET: Aymoz really captures the attention of the audience (at home...and whatever semblance of one there is in the venue). "He's such an electric performer," 1998 Olympic champion says Tara Lipinski, who also called out Aymoz's acrobatic aerial. Tripled a planned quad but did have one in his opening combo. Literally jumps (and screams) for joy at his score of 93.00 -- into second.
Two groups to go and the skaters currently in jeopardy of not advancing to the free skate are Brezina, Bychenko, Lee, Selevko and Sadovsky.
Group 4 feat. Hanyu, Uno
11 p.m. ET: After an ice resurfacing, the penultimate group includes Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia, Andrei Mozalev of ROC, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, Shoma Uno of Japan, Junhwan Cha of Koea and Matteo Rizzo of Italy.
11:12 p.m. ET: Vasiljevs is into sixth with 85.40 points.
11:18 p.m. ET: Great opening quad-triple combo for Mozalev, then this gets messy with a fall on a quad, a single axel. Into 13th - and the free skate - with 77.05.
11:26 p.m. ET: The time has come. Hanyu. Yikes - he singles the opening quad salchow, a major mistake. He rebounds with the next jumping pass, a quad toeloop-triple toeloop. Focused and purposeful from there, but did Chen a giant favor; will fight in the free to even reach the podium. Into second place with 95.15 points.
11:32 p.m. ET: Beautiful program for Uno. Really helps us refocus on skating after Hanyu's shocking popped quad. First with 105.90 points.
11:38 p.m. ET: Cha impresses as well - between Uno and Semenenko with 99.51.
11:40 p.m. ET: "I said to myself, 'Okay, this is unlucky,' so I was just focusing for the next part," Hanyu told Andrea Joyce. "I really love the music, so I just focused on that."
11:44 p.m. ET: Rizzo leads with a quad toe and closes with a triple axel: 88.63 and in seventh. Hanyu remains fourth, for those keeping track.
Group 5 of 5 feat. Chen, Brown
11:50 p.m. ET: We've reached the final group and nearly four hours later it's time for the two Americans. Group 5 includes Italy's Daniel Grassl, Canada's Keegan Messing, Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, Nathan Chen of the U.S., Georgia's Morisi Kvitelashvili and Jason Brown of the U.S.
11:58 p.m. ET: Grassl gets 90.64, in seventh and one spot ahead of his countrymate.
12:05 a.m. ET: Messing, who with COVID-19 and travel-related delays did not reach Beijing until Feb. 5 and missed out on the team event, is now fifth with 93.24 points.
12:11 am. ET: Kagiyama has the whole package and impresses once again - just as he did when he took silver at the 2019 World Championships as a 17-year-old and earlier this week when he won the team event free skate. Deservedly into first with 108.12 points. Personal best by over seven points.
12:18 a.m. ET: Chen reaches redemption! A quad flip, triple axel, quad lutz-triple toeloop combo, strong artistry that is just leaps and bounds ahead of where he was four years ago... highest score ever for a short program: 113.97 points.
12:23 a.m. ET: "I was just elated," Chen told Joyce. "Last Olympics, both short programs didn't go the way that I wanted, and finally getting the opportunity to skate the programs the way that I wanted really means a lot."
12:24 a.m. ET: Two clean quads and into fifth with 97.98 points for Kvitelashvili.
12:30 a.m. ET: Brown ends the very long night. He is Brown at his best today. The energy, the speed, the beauty, the emoting, the execution, the stamina to this full-on "Sinnerman" program. "Very simply, this short program is a work of art," Lipinski said. He's sixth in the short with 97.24 points - a new personal best.
Hanyu is eighth. Brezina is first to not advance to free skate.