Chen focuses on improvement
Nathan Chen
August 15, 2010
Article by Elvin Walker
Photo © Jay Adeff

In sport, a young life can change at the drop of a hat. A winning touchdown pass can propel a quarterback from obscurity into the mainstream. An unexpected Olympic gold medal can transform an also-ran into an overnight sensation. We all love a good story of unexpected victory. Nathan Chen, an eleven year-old sixth grader from Salt Lake City, Utah, is one such story.

At the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Chen qualified to skate in the novice men’s division – as a ten year-old. Competing against skaters who were as much as eight years older than him, Chen snatched the national title with steady performances that showed glimpses of brilliance.

“I just tried to skate my best, and whatever happened, happened,” said the precocious Chen. “I was really happy and excited and felt pretty confident.”

…Other than his two brothers, Chen has two sisters – twenty year-old Alice is enrolled at Emory College and is a dancer. His nineteen year-old sister Janice (who represented Utah in the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls several times) is a student at Johns Hopkins University, and plays the violin and chess. Chen’s father Zhidong is a Research Scientist and his mother works as a Chinese interpreter.

Here is the full article.

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