Team USA had three Americans gunning for a podium spot in Saturday's men's singles, but Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon and Vincent Zhou came up short Sunday in Pyeongchang.

After a tough day in the short program, it was an uphill battle for the three Americans who were sitting in the middle of a highly competitive field and they weren't in position to medal heading into the free skate.

On Friday, Chen fell to 17th place with 82.27 points behind Rippon (7th with 87.95) and Zhou (12th with 84.53). Chen was 29.41 points behind gold as Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, who finished the short program with 111.68 points.

Hanyu finished first with a total score of 317.85 while Japanese teammate Shoma Uno was second with a 306.90 and Spain's Javier Fernandez took the bronze with a score of 305.24. The Pyeongchang Games marks the first time since 2002 that two men from the same country made the podium in this event.

Chen said after his short program performance, "It just was rough; nothing really clicked together." The 18-year-old fell on his opening quad lutz, did not complete the required two jumps in combination, and didn't land a clean triple axel.

While it wasn't impossible, the Americans had to make a strong comeback to have a chance at the podium — and they came up just short as Chen finished fifth.

Chen was the first American to compete, and it was clear he was ready to make a statement with his performance scoring 215.08 points in the free program for a total of 297.35 points. He skated to Olympic history landing six quadruple jumps in the free program. He made history earlier this season landing five, but added another one to the mix in Pyeongchang, which gave him the lead until the final group.

"There was a lot about redemption," Chen said after his performance. "I think honestly putting down a rough short program, and being so low in the placement just took the pressure away from me. I no longer felt like I was striving for that first-place spot."

"Nathan Chen is still the quad king!"

This is history. @nathanWchen with SIX quads in his men's free skate program. #WinterOlympics #BestOfUS https://t.co/Ldd0aubwzt pic.twitter.com/LrM7LDjArn
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 17, 2018
Next up for Team USA was Vincent Zhou who skated to a 192.16 in the free skate for a combined score of 276.69 in the men's singles. He jumped to second place and held on through Rippon's performance, but as the program went on he fell to sixth.

Rippon had a clean performance skating to a score of 171.41 in the free skate, which combined for a total of 259.36 and a 10th place finish.
Finish with a flourish. It's the @adaripp way. #WinterOlympics https://t.co/fmMl0C4Amf pic.twitter.com/HU4n6ipnok
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 17, 2018
Team USA will be back on the ice during Sunday's coverage of the ice dance short program where sibling duo Maia and Alex Shibutani will compete for a medal