Two Time Olympian! Karen Chen Cheer Thread

[Fadeevfanboy]

I would love if in some unlikely event, this was our exact Olympic team again 4 years later.

 

[Sylvia]

Karen performed in a show in Aspen, CO last Saturday: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca3FCHLPgYn/ (I think I heard her “On Golden Pond” music in an Instagram story shared by a fan).

Club’s photos:

Aspen Skating Club 2022 Spring Show Broadway on Ice with guest skater Olypmian and 2017 National Champion Karen Chen.

Aspen Skating club presents Broadway on Ice, starring Aspen's young talented skaters and guest skater Olympian and 2017 National Champion Karen Chen.

www.aspenfigureskatingclub.com

ETA a clip of Karen’s 3Lz that a fan captured from her IG story last weekend: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/Qut0JLv0wKw

 

[DreamSkates]

I look forward to seeing her skate in person in a few weeks in Stars on Ice!

 

[Wyliefan]

New interview with Karen:

Stars on Ice coming to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

We chat with skater Karen Chen about her career and being part of Stars on Ice, which is coming to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this week.

www.cleveland.com

Chen, who has had several leg injuries, has kept a positive focus to get through rehabilitation.

“It’s for sure very frustrating,” she said. “Yeah, I did go through different types of injuries. I think at the end of the day, during the times I am away from the ice, it just makes me crave being back on ice again. I truly discovered that I love skating and I love training; that’s what I want to be doing. Although it’s really frustrating and has its moments, it kind of fuels this fire that I want to continue skating and accomplish all these goals I have for myself.”

Those goals include striving for the Olympics in 2026 in Italy.

“I hope so,” she said. “I’m just really focused and enjoying the moments that I have now, and the future is undecided.”

 

[livetoskate]

Karen's mom is now in the business of making custom skating outfits! Karen posted on Instagram about it, with photos of the dresses her mom has made her through the years.

 

[Sylvia]

Karen's mom is now in the business of making custom skating outfits!

Her new account: https://www.instagram.com/mamachensk8/

Karen posted on Instagram about it, with photos of the dresses her mom has made her through the years.

Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdi3mSUFN_n/

 

[Sylvia]

Fan Zone article today (May 26) on the impact of Karen's role models for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month:

Karen Chen Finds Inspiration from Figure Skating Legends - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Karen Chen remembers the moment she first met Kristi Yamaguchi.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

People article (May 25):

Olympian Karen Chen Says Mental Health Struggles Made Figure Skating 'Hard to Enjoy'

Olympic silver medalist Karen Chen tells PEOPLE that she previously thought she would be seen as weak if she discussed her struggles with anxiety

people.com

"It has been hard. I always felt that athletes are viewed as being the strongest both physically and mentally. That idea has really made it hard for me to prioritize my mental health," Chen explains, adding that social media also provides "so much unnecessary and distracting noise" that can impact her mental wellness.
Chen's perspective didn't change "until I realized how strong one had to be to be brave and open up about these topics." She adds, "I find it so interesting how mental and physical health are treated so differently."
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Finding The Edge: My Life on the Ice author is hosting an Emotional Fitness talk on June 1 at her alma mater, Connections Academy, where she'll share her personal journey with anxiety.

Mental Health: Let's Talk About It with Connections Academy

experience.connectionsacademy.com

Karen's photos from the 5/22 San Jose Stars on Ice show and the Team USA Olympic celebration afterwards (during which she gave a speech in awarding the Order of Ikkos medal to her coach): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6eqqGvQie/

 

[On My Own]

Two-time Olympian - and Team Olympic Medalist (EDIT: whoops! Waiting for that gold!!!)

 

[Sylvia]

FSO's Maura Sullivan Hill recaps Karen Chen's Zoom talk from last week (I've also posted this in the Mental Health thread in GSD):

Karen Chen on self-doubt, mental health and keeping calm under pressure – Figure Skaters Online

figureskatersonline.com

Excerpts:

“I work with my sports psychologist really closely, and I tell her, sometimes I go into my most difficult jumping pass or my most difficult element, and all I can think about is the times I wasn’t successful, and just a million thoughts going through my mind,” Chen said during a virtual talk about mental health on June 1, 2022. “So self-doubt is something that I’ve faced and that I’ve had to really try to overcome.”
Chen shared these and other thoughts on prioritizing mental health via Zoom during the talk, which was titled “Karen Chen on keeping calm under pressure” and offered by Connections Academy, the fully online public school where she earned her high school degree.
“In a way, I’m hoping that opening up about this can help somebody out there. Even if it is just one person, that would absolutely mean the world to me,” said Chen.

“It’s hard for me to differentiate my skating accomplishments and my identity. I always get those two mixed together,” said Chen, who is also a student at Cornell University. “So when I don’t have the best skates, I feel like I let myself down. I feel like I let my family down. I feel like I let my coaches down. I feel like I failed as a student, I failed as an athlete, I failed as a daughter. And that’s something that I’m still working on — to learn to differentiate my self-worth and identity [from] my success as an athlete.

 

[Sylvia]

Karen has posted "random pics from my last 24 hours" in Colorado Springs: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCzhlNLJKj/

She didn't say where she's going for the rest of the summer before returning to Cornell -- maybe staying with her mother and younger brother who trains in Michigan?

 

[Sylvia]

I hope Karen enjoyed her 23rd birthday on August 16 : https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/1559540485269716997

She is back at Cornell, according to her latest Instagram stories, and the university's figure skating club had their first practice at Lynah Rink last night: https://www.instagram.com/cornellfigureskating/

ETA that Karen shared this on ice photo on Wednesday with the wry caption "sorry @cornellfigureskating i’m back ": https://www.instagram.com/p/ChpxOODpict/

 

[Sylvia]

This Week in Skating's podcast interview with Karen Chen (January 15, 2023): https://www.thisweekinskating.com/episodes/

In our special episode out today, Daphne & Gina are joined by two-time Olympian Karen Chen (@karebearsk8)! Karen shares what she's been up to recently & what she'll be doing at the U.S. Championships next week!

ETA: I especially enjoyed the fun Q&A at the end!

 

[Sylvia]

"had sm fun during my 36 hours @lakeplacid2023 " (Karen's first pic is a group selfie with Sakamoto, Mihara, Yelim Kim & Kurakova at the Exhibition Gala yesterday): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnh2tJ2PWdC/

From the FISU World University Games thread in GSD yesterday:

Special guest Karen Chen performed to a remix of "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" that started slowly (like Kaiya Ruiter's SP cover version but not the same) and ended with Whitney Houston's original that really revved up the crowd!

ETA - Marian Hill is the singer of the first half - I remembered that Jordan Cowan filmed Karen's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" at the Providence, Rhode Island tree lighting rehearsal on December 2, 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIvyq6C-DRU

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (@MarianHillMusic, @whitneyhoustonmusic and the David Solomon remix) for the live rehearsal of the 2022 Providence Tree Lighting Show.