“I Wanted to Be a Goalie”: US Olympic Medalist Nathan Chen Reveals His Mother Pushed Him Into Figure Skating Over Ice Hockey

The incredible Nathan Chen is one of the best figure skaters in the world. He won the bronze medal during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and won plaudits for his performance. Hence, the young prodigy is now the favorite to win the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Notably, Nathan has had quite an interesting journey to the top. Uniquely, he wanted to become an ice hockey goalkeeper but chose to focus on figure skating instead.

Nathan Chen wanted to be a goalie

With a family full of hockey players, Chen’s natural inclination was to become a hockey player. However, his mother had other plans. Giving him a pair of figure skates, Chen’s mother influenced him to take up figure skating and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I wanted to be a goalie because I watched my brother play hockey and saw the goalie gear. I did not know anything about the sport. And then I asked my mom, ‘Hey, can I play hockey and be a goalie?’ and so she said ‘Being a goalie looks kinda boring, I’m gonna give you some figure skates to try out first’ and that catalyzed me to become a figure skater,” said Chen.

From almost becoming a goalkeeper to today being recognized as a sensational figure skater, Chen has come a long way. He is now 22 and is the outright favorite to win the gold medal in Beijing.

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Legend in the making

After winning the bronze medal, he became a three-time World Champion in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Notably, his famous five types of quadruple jumps are one of the best sequences seen in a very long time. Likewise, he is smooth and fluid in movements, which makes him a sight to behold.

Thus, this year, he would love to get one level higher and win the gold medal. There are many competitors who look to catch him off-guard, but Nathan Chen is an incredible talent. He has all it takes to become a superstar of the figure skating world and Beijing Olympics might just be the start of his historic journey.

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