How Nathan Chen Became Team USA's Great Figure Skating Hope
Nathan Chen
Nathan Chen  hit the ice jumping when  he  landed in PyeongChang  South Korea to compete in  his  first Winter Olympic Games. Despite not sleeping through the night because of jet lag  the young American star managed to skate all three practice sessions to which  he  was assigned and  he  held little back  landing most of the challenging quadruple jumps for which  he âs known.
That bodes well for the first member of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team scheduled to compete in PyeongChang.  Chen   18  will skate the short program portion of the team event this Thursday  Feb. 8  at 8pm ET  a day before the official Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 9.
Itâs a moment  Chen  was all but groomed for. When  he  was seven   Chen  used to perform a routine set to âI Just Canât Wait to be Kingâ from the Lion King  decked out in a Simba costume with hoodie  ears and tail that  his  mother made for the occasion. Few could have predicted how prescient it was.
 Chen  is now the two-time U.S. national figure skating champion and is known as the Quad King for being the first skater in the world to land five quadruple jumps in a single program. Most elite figure skaters perfect just one or two of the four-rotation jumps. But  Chen âs ability to whip off five different quad jumps makes  him  a favorite to win individual Olympic gold in PyeongChang.
A native of Salt Lake City and the youngest of five   Chen  displayed  his  extraordinary skating skill from an early age  landing  his  first triple jumps at 10. Mastering quad jumps was an extension of the work ethic instilled by  his  parents  who immigrated from China. âMy parents always wanted the very best from me  and pushed me further and further â  Chen  tells TIME. âThat stuck with me  and itâs something Iâve taken hold of  myself  and tried to improve on.â
As a rising junior figure skater   Chen  noticed a âdry spellâ in menâs skating in the U.S. during which there âhasnât been too much motivation to do quad jumps â  he  says. (A U.S. manâs last Olympic skating medal was Evan Lysacekâs gold in 2010.) âI was seeing younger guys at international competitions do crazy things  and realized we were a little far behind  and that we needed to keep pushing forward.â
Watching a competitor from China packing his figure skating programs with three quad jumps sparked a competitive fire in  Chen . âKnowing that other guys were far ahead of  me  switched a light on in my head  that it was really important to get these quad jumps â  he  says.
Trained in ballet and gymnastics along with skating   Chen âs strength and technique offered a strong foundation for building  his  repertoire of quad jumps.  His  training partner and Olympic teammate  Adam Rippon  says  Chen  is âone of the best jumpers in the worldâ and credits  Chen  with improving  his  own figure skating.
 Chen  is also among the most versatile.  His  programs seem to be a continuous work in progress â this season  he  has not performed the same long program twice  switching up  his  figure skating jumps depending on how  he  is feeling physically and compensating for any mistakes  he  may have made. Because  he  is able to execute five different quadruple jumps (not to mention their triple versions too)   he  has a range of tricks  he  can slide into  his  routines. âIâm the only skater currently who can do all five quads. So having that technical difficulty in my arsenal allows me to manipulate my program however I want during competition.â
The downside of all that flexibility (and sheer physical force) is the toll it can take on  his  body. Just after winning  his  first medal  a bronze  at the senior U.S. national championships in 2016   Chen  injured  his  hip  forcing  him  to spend five months off the ice to recover.
Once back in the rink   Chen  focused on soaring even higher. âI never set out to do these programs  or to make history â  he  says. âI just like to keep pushing  myself  and the sport.â
[TGT] hit the ice jumping when   [TGT]   landed in PyeongChang  South Korea to compete in   [TGT]   first Winter Olympic Games. Despite not sleeping through the night because of jet lag  the young American star managed to skate all three practice sessions to which   [TGT]   was assigned and   [TGT]   held little back  landing most of the challenging quadruple jumps for which   [TGT]  âs known.
That bodes well for the first member of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team scheduled to compete in PyeongChang.  Chen   18  will skate the short program portion of the team event this Thursday  Feb. 8  at 8pm ET  a day before the official Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 9.
Itâs a moment   [TGT] was all but groomed for. When   [TGT]   was seven    [TGT] used to perform a routine set to âI Just Canât Wait to be Kingâ from the Lion King  decked out in a Simba costume with hoodie  ears and tail that   [TGT]   mother made for the occasion. Few could have predicted how prescient it was.
  [TGT] is now the two-time U.S. national figure skating champion and is known as the Quad King for being the first skater in the world to land five quadruple jumps in a single program. Most elite figure skaters perfect just one or two of the four-rotation jumps. But   [TGT]  âs ability to whip off five different quad jumps makes   [TGT]   a favorite to win individual Olympic gold in PyeongChang.
A native of Salt Lake City and the youngest of five    [TGT] displayed   [TGT]   extraordinary skating skill from an early age  landing   [TGT]   first triple jumps at 10. Mastering quad jumps was an extension of the work ethic instilled by   [TGT]   parents  who immigrated from China. âMy parents always wanted the very best from me  and pushed me further and further â   [TGT] tells TIME. âThat stuck with me  and itâs something Iâve taken hold of   [TGT]   and tried to improve on.â
As a rising junior figure skater    [TGT] noticed a âdry spellâ in menâs skating in the U.S. during which there âhasnât been too much motivation to do quad jumps â   [TGT]   says. (A U.S. manâs last Olympic skating medal was Evan Lysacekâs gold in 2010.) âI was seeing younger guys at international competitions do crazy things  and realized we were a little far behind  and that we needed to keep pushing forward.â
Watching a competitor from China packing his figure skating programs with three quad jumps sparked a competitive fire in   [TGT]  . âKnowing that other guys were far ahead of  me  switched a light on in my head  that it was really important to get these quad jumps â  he  says.
Trained in ballet and gymnastics along with skating    [TGT]  âs strength and technique offered a strong foundation for building   [TGT]   repertoire of quad jumps.   [TGT]   training partner and Olympic teammate  Adam Rippon  says   [TGT] is âone of the best jumpers in the worldâ and credits  Chen  with improving   [TGT]   own figure skating.
  [TGT] is also among the most versatile.   [TGT]   programs seem to be a continuous work in progress â this season   [TGT]   has not performed the same long program twice  switching up   [TGT]   figure skating jumps depending on how   [TGT]   is feeling physically and compensating for any mistakes   [TGT]   may have made. Because   [TGT]   is able to execute five different quadruple jumps (not to mention their triple versions too)    [TGT]   has a range of tricks   [TGT]   can slide into   [TGT]   routines. âIâm the only skater currently who can do all five quads. So having that technical difficulty in my arsenal allows me to manipulate my program however I want during competition.â
The downside of all that flexibility (and sheer physical force) is the toll it can take on  his  body. Just after winning  his  first medal  a bronze  at the senior U.S. national championships in 2016   Chen  injured  his  hip  forcing  him  to spend five months off the ice to recover.
Once back in the rink   Chen  focused on soaring even higher. âI never set out to do these programs  or to make history â  he  says. âI just like to keep pushing  myself  and the sport.â