What School Does Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Chen Go to?

22-year-old Nathan Chen won his first Gold Medal today at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. The American figure skater won the Men’s singles free skating event remarkably.

Moreover, Chen also set a new world record in the short program event, scoring 113.97. For all intents and purposes, Chen’s performance at the 2022 Olympics was redemption for his 2018 performance.

Both short programs had not gone his way last Olympics, as he won the Bronze medal. Now, the story is different, as Chen soared above the competition to win the Gold.

Figure skating is not the only thing in Nathan Chen’s life, however. The 22-year-old youngster also goes to Yale, when he isn’t setting world records and standing atop podiums.

Nathan Chen is a Yalie

Olympic Gold medalist Nathan Chen enrolled in Yale University in 2018. Chen is majoring as a Statistics and Data Science major at the Connecticut school.

Speaking to 2014 Olympic champion Meryl Davis, Chen had stated that he chose his major at Yale with the future in mind. In that vein, Nathan decided to pursue his graduate degree so he could “bridge that gap” between skating and “something else”.

“When I decide my time in skating is up, I can pursue something else,” Nathan explained as he talked about balancing college and figure skating. After his Olympics 2018 performance, Nathan had made it clear that he was an Olympic Gold Medal contender.

Thus, when he chose to enroll at Yale, many doubted how he would manage to balance training with education. After all, it could be argued that an Ivy League education asks just as much effort as training for gold at the Olympics.

ALSO READ: ?Horrendous Outfit?- Fans Trolls Nathan Chen?s Gold Medal Winning Costume at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Nathan Chen explained his decision to enroll as “a no-brainer”. He described how he had “never considered that (he) would truly have the opportunity to go”. Hence, when he did get the chance, he didn’t pass it up.

Chen can’t wait to be back on campus

Chen is a resident of Jonathan Edwards College, where he has been pursuing a full-time course. For the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, he began a leave of absence last year, and he plans on returning to campus in September when fall comes.

In fact, Chen admitted that he misses being on campus. Clearly, the 22-year-old gold medalist holds his university in high regard and feels connected to it.

Even though he travels and practices around the world, Chen ensures that he studies his textbooks for the classes he intends to take going forward. However, he certainly wishes to be there in person.

Chen expressed that it “doesn’t feel the same reading through that stuff in your own room”. Thus, he is very “excited to go back (to Yale) and keep learning”.

WATCH THIS STORY: Nathan Chen Gets Gold: U.S. Figure Skater Dazzles to Win at 2022 Winter Olympics