Nathan Chen Wins Gold Medal
Figure skater Nathan Chen’s noteworthy routine at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has captivated audiences from all over the globe with his famous quadruple axel jumps. On Feb. 10, Chen made history with his routine as the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles figure skating category. In a subcategory of the men’s singles category, men’s free skate, his routine was choreographed to a mashup of “Rocketman” and “Benny and the Jets” by Elton John. Chen finished with a score of 218.63 in his free skate and also set a new world record in the individual short program category with a score of 113.97 (Consumer News and Business Channel). Chen’s total combined score was 332.60, establishing him as the top men’s figure skater at the games this year.
Chen, who grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, credits his mother for helping him reach his life-long goal of competing in the Olympics. Several times a year, Chen and his mother would make the drive from Utah to Lake Arrowhead, California for lessons with his current coach, Rafael Arutyunyan. When Chen was 11 years old, he and his family made the permanent move to California in order for him to train with his coach more frequently (National Broadcast Company). Chen’s efforts eventually paid off when he qualified for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where he ultimately placed fifth. However, after missing a chance to win a medal in Pyeongchang, due to a fall when trying to complete a quadruple luz, he continued to train and went undefeated in his competitions for the next three years. When speaking in an interview with The Washington Post about Pyeongchang, Chen expressed that people “learn the most from mistakes” and he “certainly learned a lot from that competition.” Freshman Sophie Wang watched this year’s Winter Olympics and is excited that Chen was able to inspire viewers with his redemption after Pyeongchang.
“I am so happy that [Nathan Chen] was finally able to win gold after Pyeongchang, and his technical scores were the highest,” Wang said. “[He is] an inspiration to [many] to work hard, break limits and set records.”
Chen was first influenced to figure skate after seeing other Olympic figure skaters competing on television, including Michelle Kwan, a fellow Asian American Olympic figure skater. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Chen expressed that “having athletes that look like you gives you hope that you can do the same, and Michelle Kwan certainly was that for me.” Chen felt connected with Kwan when he was growing up, as they are both Chinese American, and now he is inspiring other young Asian American athletes in the same way Kwan inspired him; Alysa Liu, a newcomer to the U.S. Olympic Team, is also Chinese American and cited Chen as one of her influences. Chen’s inspiration will continue to grow as he inspires many other Chinese American athletes to work hard and reach their goals. Junior Eleanor Hsu, who was a figure skater for five years, respects the hard work Chen has put in and hopes he can serve as positive representation for the Asian American community.
“Nathan Chen being the first Asian American male athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating is a very inspiring thing,” Hsu said. “It is amazing to see how much diversity has been achieved [in the Olympics] and the breaking of historical stereotypes against the Asian American community. I believe that his accomplishments and hard work will serve as a precedent and inspiration for many others.”
Chen’s win is considered to be especially significant for the Asian American community because of a history of exclusionary practices in sports leagues, leading to an underrepresentation of Asian Americans in elite-level sports (National Broadcast Company). The New York Times has recently experienced backlash from the Asian American community after one of their articles noted that Chen and other Asian Americans were beginning to dominate Olympic figure skating. The author of the article said it was not intended to be harmful, but amid two years of pandemic-fueled hate crimes against Asian Americans, the use of the term “overrepresented” in the article struck a nerve with many. Many felt that the term “overrepresented” was too extreme. For perhaps as long as organized sports have existed in the U.S., Asian Americans have been underrepresented, in part due to a history of gatekeeping and social segregation (National Broadcast Company). Junior Jessica Wiemels, who has experience in competitive figure skating, feels that Chen is a great role model for Asian American figure skaters across the country.
“Nathan Chen winning an Olympic gold medal serves as the perfect representation for Asian Americans in sports,” Wiemels said. “Representation is so important because of how it defines inclusivity and inspiration. For a long time, there has been a lack of this much-needed Asian American representation. Skaters like Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi and now Nathan Chen are the perfect examples of what Asian Americans in sports can achieve.”
