Nathan Chen is one of the most decorated figure skaters of all time.
At the Beijing Olympics, he became just the seventh American to capture gold in the men’s individual competition. He also won a silver medal at the team event in figure skating.
In an interview for LA Times Today, Chen joined host Lisa McRee to talk about the Olympics, his career, and what comes next.
Chen grew up in Salt Lake City and spoke about falling in love with figure skating.
"My family did so much for me," he said. "Really, everything that I have been able to accomplish in skating is largely due to them and all the work and sacrifice that they made for me. The people that I worked with, my team did so much to help me get to where I am now and it’s really just due to them."
Chen’s mother is a Chinese immigrant. She took Nathan to Beijing when he was a child. He reflected on what it was like to return there as an Olympian, and how his younger self would hardly have believed how far he’d come.
"I went when I was around 10 years old. I actually had a show there at that time. That is why we were able to go there. I saw my extended family and my grandparents and the rest of my family that is still in China. It was really cool to have that connection and always being able to remember like I was here with my family many, many years ago and I’m back here some 12 years later competing at the Olympics. It’s really cool."
Many elite athletes have recently opened been very honest about their own mental health struggles and the stress they are under when they compete at that level. Chen works with a sports psychologist and talked about keeping himself healthy mentally and physically.
"I think it’s so incredible that all of these athletes are coming out and telling their stories and just normalizing it. A lot of times, we were just expected to not ever consider how we’re mentally feeling and how internally feeling."
When he's not skating at the Olympics, Chen is a student at Yale. He said he is looking forward to returning to school in August and working toward his goal of becoming a doctor.
In the meantime, Chen is on the road with the Stars on Ice tour.
Click the arrow above to watch the full interview.
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