Nathan Chen equals Brian Boitano with 4th straight national skating title

Rocketman has launched — straight to a fourth national title.

With stratospheric jumps and the sort of stage presence that even Elton John would appreciate, Nathan Chen won his fourth consecutive U.S. Figure Skating Championships men’s gold medal Sunday in Greensboro, N.C. Skating to the score from John’s biopic, Chen soared far above the competition, winning by more than 37 points.

The ninth man to earn at least that many U.S. championships in a row, and the first since Brian Boitano completed that kind of quad in 1988, Chen hit four quadruple jumps and six triples in his routine that had the crowd on its feet long before it concluded.

“It’s a huge deal for me to be able to take the next step to sort of follow in their footsteps,” Chen said, mentioning Dick Button, Scott Hamilton and Boitano. “They did amazing things well beyond what I have accomplished.”

Chen, 20, has not lost a competition since a dismal short program at the 2018 Olympics ruined any chance at a medal. He’s won two world championships and three Grand Prix Finals crowns altogether.

Plus the four U.S. titles as he continues raising the standards for men’s skating even as he attends Yale full time.

Chen also owns a bronze medal from the team event at Pyeongchang and will be a favorite for a third successive victory at worlds in Montreal in March.

Joining him there will be Jason Brown and possibly Tomoki Hiwatashi, who finished second and third respectively.

The last American man to win three consecutive world titles was Hamilton with his fourth in a row in 1984.

“No one is perfect, even if you’re undefeated for a large number of times,” Hamilton said. “In the next...