Nathan Chen Fan Thread #2

Presscon with the top 3.
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【ノーカット】フィギュア男子シングル　SP上位３人が会見

15時めど　ショートプログラムの上位３人が会見1位）ネイサン・チェン　選手2位）鍵山優真　選手3位）宇野昌磨　選手#フィギュア　#鍵山優真　#宇野昌磨　#オリンピック◇日本テレビ報道局のSNSTwitter　https://twitter.com/news24ntvFacebook　https://www.fac...
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Nathan!!! My baby skater boy! I'm so proud!

Phenomenal Short Program and a World record to boot! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 :cheer: :cheer2: :respec: 🔥🔥🔥⛸⛸

I was strangely calm yesterday before Nathan's skate - actually, before the men's event even began! Normally, I would've chickened out and just read Jackie's PBP. But then I said to myself no, Nathan's going for it out there alone on the ice, so I'm going to watch and cheer him on! I do admit that I had to take a couple of deep breaths - but then I was fine and I've never enjoyed a men's Olympic SP so much! Well, no, I loved Yagudin's SP in 2002, but I have watched Nathan since his Peter and the Wolf baby Nathan days, so his SP was more emotional for me! 🥺🤩💖💖💖 Heart of a champion!

I think that Nathan jumped over the most dangerous hurdle, since you can't win a medal in the (individual) SP, but, as the ghosts of 2018 showed, you can sure lose one before ever getting to the FS! No time to get complacent though! With a relatively small cushion over Yuma and Shoma, Nathan still has to stay focused and nail his FS tomorrow to (hopefully) win gold!
 
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How unexpected that Nathan and Yuzu's positions are essentially reversed from the way they were after the SP in 2018. He was perfection personified last night.
 
Still feeling the effects of the emotional rollercoaster last night!
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Shoma spoke about Nathan for Toyota Times Global. Choose English subtitles.
https://youtu.be/LhnyZrm0lOQ?t=2215

NYT article about the success of Asian Americans in figure skating
www.nytimes.com

The Asian American Pipeline in Figure Skating (Published 2022)

The chain of success stretches back for years and has only strengthened as more have poured into the sport and become Olympic stars.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

A few parts where Nathan is mentioned:
“I think representation is really important,” said Nathan Chen, a Chinese American who was also a member of the Olympic team in 2018, when seven of the 14 skaters were Asian American. “So to continue seeing faces that kind of look like yours on TV doing really cool things, I think, is still useful to a young kid.”
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Karen Chen said she had meaningful conversations with Nathan Chen about managing the pressure and expectations of immigrant parents, about addressing mental health in a community in which it is not often prioritized. (Studies regularly show Asian Americans, as a racial group, are among the least likely in this country to seek mental health services.)

More lightheartedly, Karen Chen pointed out that all four Asian American singles skaters on the team spoke Mandarin, at varying levels of proficiency. She had been brushing up before arriving here.

“I think Nathan’s Chinese is the worst,” she said, laughing. “I can say confidently that’s one thing I am better than Nathan at.”
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Team Event group photo from Mad Hubbell's IG
www.instagram.com

Madison Hubbell on Instagram: "What a day! Thank you to my teammates for their hard work, and beautiful performances. I wish all of the athletes from @usfigureskating could have competed with us, and I wanted to say a special thanks for the support t

6,955 likes, 123 comments - splashmadison on February 7, 2022: "What a day! Thank you to my teammates for their hard work, and beautiful performances. I wish all of the athletes from @usfigureskating could have competed with us, and I wanted to say a special thanks for the support this team felt...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

Both US and Japanese media outlets seem to fascinated by Nathan's unusual warmup methods.
www.sltrib.com

How does one of the world’s best figure skaters warm up? Nathan Chen grabs a basketball

How does one of the best figure skaters in the world warm up? With a basketball. Nathan Chen, a Salt Lake native, loves the game and says it helps him prepare for Olympic competition.
www.sltrib.com www.sltrib.com
www.instagram.com

Go Nathaaan（NCJP） on Instagram: "練習前にリラックスするネイサン・チェン選手 🏈 #NathanChen #Beijing2022"

459 likes, 11 comments - go_nathaaan on February 6, 2022: "練習前にリラックスするネイサン・チェン選手 🏈 #NathanChen #Beijing2022".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
Do we think Nathan has a new long program costume? Thought he might have a new one for the short from nationals but he didn’t. Didn’t love the nationals rocket man shirt. Hope he got something new…
 
Sasha'sSpins said:
YAY NATHAN!!! :cheer: :cheer2: :respec: ⛸️ ⛸️ Awesome redemption in the Team Event for the Quad King! I had to work late last night, so I kept up with results with Jackie Wong's PBP! I was THRILLED when I read that Nathan landed everything, received a PB, just a smidge under Yuzu's record and slayed the TE demons of 4 years ago! He seems quite focused and when I watched the event on my dvr, he seemed rather stoic afterwards, celebrating his score with his teammates, but not too much - there's still work to be done in the days ahead! I hope he nails his next two programs in the individual event and medals - gold would be especially awesome of course! 😎

Eta: I wish that Andrea Joyce would stop bringing up the ghosts of 2018! Nathan needs to focus on the now, and not have his unfortunate SP skates at the 2018 Games constantly brought up in his face!
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Andrea has now been silenced after Nathan’s record-breaking sp in the individual event!!!
 
Another photo from Vogue. :slinkaway
www.instagram.com

Vogue on Instagram: "Last night, U.S. figure skater @nathanwchen finished first in the men’s short program at the Beijing #Olympics. Chen set a world record with the highest points ever scored as he went up against rival skater Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan,

60K likes, 149 comments - voguemagazine on February 8, 2022: "Last night, U.S. figure skater @nathanwchen finished first in the men’s short program at the Beijing #Olympics. Chen set a world record with the highest points ever scored as he went up against rival skater Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

Scott Hamilton on Nathan's performance
www.today.com

Nathan Chen 'practically impossible to beat' as he breaks world record in short program

American figure skater Nathan Chen wowed the world Monday as he had a record-breaking performance, earning the highest score ever in the men’s short program. Figure skating analyst Scott Hamilton joins TODAY to talk about Chen’s big night, and he looks ahead to the free skate Wednesday. "He's...
www.today.com www.today.com

Shoutout from Team Panasonic

Instagram

www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
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I love that the French (?) reporter persisted in asking Nathan about the late, great Charles Aznavour! He asked whether Nathan had done some research on the legendary singer who composed the epic song (the haunting lyrics are by Jacques Plante), and whether he understood the meaning behind the lyrics of "La Bohème", (a Bohemian). I was curious about this too!

From what I've read, a Bohemian is usually an artistic person (like a painter, or poet for example) who basically goes their own way in life. Sort of a 19th century Beatnik, or Hippie! They are unconventional in the way that they choose to live, dress, etc. So Nathan's particular aesthetic (in other words, his costume choices :D), suits the spirit of a Bohemian! I would even argue that his previous costume suited the song just fine! And the lyrics, IIRC, are about an artist's sad lament of the days of his Bohemian youth or lifestyle in Montmartre. I could be remembering that wrong, but that's the jist of it I think!

Here's the great man himself singing "La Bohème", in English. The line about youth, and 'moments of joy, moments of pain', is particularly poignant, and truly resonates when one considers the up, down, up trajectory of a young champion's career - like Nathan's. And, poignantly Vincent's too, when you consider his own moments of joy - and current moment of pain. 🥺🥺🥺
Such a beautiful song! I'm so happy that Nathan skated to it (twice!) at the Olympics! It's my favorite SP of his, and Rocketman is my favorite FS of his!
 
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vgerdes said:
How unexpected that Nathan and Yuzu's positions are essentially reversed from the way they were after the SP in 2018. He was perfection personified last night.
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Unlike Nathan in 2018 though, who had an insurmountable deficit in 17th place after the SP, and placed 5th overall, even after winning the FS, Yuzu still has a shot at the podium. He's going to have to be near flawless though, and hope for mistakes from the top guys. I of course hope for clean skates from everyone - especially Nathan. 🙏😁
 
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sheetz said:
Another photo from Vogue. :slinkaway
www.instagram.com

Vogue on Instagram: "Last night, U.S. figure skater @nathanwchen finished first in the men’s short program at the Beijing #Olympics. Chen set a world record with the highest points ever scored as he went up against rival skater Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan,

60K likes, 149 comments - voguemagazine on February 8, 2022: "Last night, U.S. figure skater @nathanwchen finished first in the men’s short program at the Beijing #Olympics. Chen set a world record with the highest points ever scored as he went up against rival skater Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
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I'm with you. Somehow I just don't see Nathan in anything with ruffles. This is almost as bad as that pink suit.
 
A.H.Black said:
I'm with you. Somehow I just don't see Nathan in anything with ruffles. This is almost as bad as that pink suit.
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Me three. Nathan dresses nice but casual outside of the rink, and these past few years, as he's matured, and with the exception of his recent Rocketman shirt, most of his costumes have been pretty casual too and for comfort. Ruffles and pink suits with big fur-looking sleeves just aren't Nathan. They're more Johnny Weir. I'm not sure what the stylists at Vogue were thinking or going for with Nathan. I've seen some very nice, very cool men's outfits in magazines but those Vogue ones ain't it.
 
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Really enjoyed the men's short! Nathan was just spectacular. He is surely a quad king, but to me, his line, his footwork, those amazing spins, and his overall presence on the ice just blows me away. I just adore him. And off the ice, he is quite a role model. I continue to be in awe of the skaters of today, the increase in technical ability is astonishing to me as a long time fan. But there is still that "it" factor for me to love a skater more than another and Nathan definitely has "it"!
 
I meant to share these tweets by USA Today sports reporter Tom Schad after Nathan’s SP (forgot to hit ‘post reply’ yesterday) - this is someone who doesn’t normally cover figure skating: https://twitter.com/Tom_Schad/status/1490917094996602881
I've long felt like the only thing in sports that's more difficult than being great is being great at a specific moment, when literally everyone expects it of you. And that's what Nathan Chen just did. Remarkable.
The score: 113.97 for Nathan Chen. That's two points better than what he did last week in the team event, and the best short program (by score) that he's ever had. So impressive.
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Nathan Chen was asked about the fist pump at the end of his program. He laughed. “I almost never do stuff like that, so I was like, ‘why did I do that?’” he said. “I guess it’s indicative of just how I felt in that moment.”
Chen said nailing his short program in the team event was kind of a double-edged sword. "Of course it builds confidence, knowing that you can do it," he said. "But then it's like, 'OK, well I have to do it again exactly like that.'"
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Sasha'sSpins said:
Unlike Nathan in 2018 though, who had an insurmountable deficit in 17th place after the SP, and placed 5th overall, even after winning the FS, Yuzu still has a shot at the podium. He's going to have to be near flawless though, and hope for mistakes from the top guys. I of course hope for clean skates from everyone - especially Nathan. 🙏😁
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I know. The situation's not identical, and Yuzu still has a shot -- but it's a distant one. That's why I said in Yuzu's thread that I think he should just go for the 4A if he wants. If he nails it, that might be enough to push him to the top of the podium, and if he doesn't, at least he'll know he gave it a shot.
 
Video of baby Nathan's Snowplow Sam freeskate taken by his first coach, Stephanee Grosscup.

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Wellwishes from Grosscup

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Evan Lysacek gives his thoughts on Nathan going into the FS
www.today.com

Figure skating legend Evan Lysacek on Nathan Chen’s path to Olympic gold

Former Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek joins TODAY to discuss Nathan Chen’s mindset heading into the free skate final. He describes what goes through skater’s minds before competing, and warns we shouldn’t rule out a comeback from one of the Japanese skating stars. “If Nathan were to make a...
www.today.com www.today.com
Nathan plays This Or That
www.instagram.com

U.S. Figure Skating on Instagram: "Morning or night? Burritos or tacos? Call or text?⁠ ⁠ @nathanwchen answers these questions and more. Catch the Quad King as he goes for gold tonight in the free skate!"

5,944 likes, 41 comments - usfigureskating on February 9, 2022: "Morning or night? Burritos or tacos? Call or text?⁠ ⁠ @nathanwchen answers these questions and more. Catch the Quad King as he goes for gold tonight in the free skate!".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

More articles
Coach says Nathan Chen's mindset is clear ahead of free skate: 'He really knows what he wants to do'
Arutunian, whose skaters have included Michelle Kwan, Ashley Wagner and other top Olympians in the past, said he was moved by Chen's performance on Tuesday. He even welled up with tears, a rarity for the gruff Armenian who is famous for his poker face.

"I was standing there and basically I didn't even move," he said of watching Chen's short. "I was watching [and] just a little bit I had tears in my eyes; it's emotional. That's because it was a long journey. I [have been coaching] with him... I think it's more than 10 years already I'm working with him. And that's why I think I was emotional."
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Homegrown world record-holder Nathan Chen fueling skating growth in Salt Lake [also includes video w/ Stephanee Grosscup and Josef Sebobchek]
WSJ: Nathan Chen's Yellow Brick Road to Gold
 
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vgerdes said:
I know. The situation's not identical, and Yuzu still has a shot -- but it's a distant one. That's why I said in Yuzu's thread that I think he should just go for the 4A if he wants. If he nails it, that might be enough to push him to the top of the podium, and if he doesn't, at least he'll know he gave it a shot.
Click to expand...

I don't think it would push him to the top of the podium from where he is now, but it could well push him onto the podium, which at this point would be a victory.
 
"Tomáš Verner's commentary after Nathan's short program." https://twitter.com/FS_enthusiast/status/1491132188901150721

From Evgenia Medvedeva's fan group: https://twitter.com/team_moonbear/status/1490982562743087107
about #NathanChen: He did it! An ideal clean SP, I will be very surprised if he doesn’t get a world record now, because it was genius, the best skate I’ve ever seen. Everything worked out for him and we are all just in wild ecstasy, all 'cause it was something incredible!
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Nathan Chen Is Winning by Not Trying So Hard to Win (paywall)
I found this part, where Nathan's rinkmates offered their insight on his personality, most interesting:
Adam Rippon, a 2018 Olympian who helps coach Bell, noticed a big change in Chen.

“I think it took him focusing on school and working every part of his brain to finally realize that skating was not life or death, and that perspective took some of the pressure off,” Rippon said. “I can see him stepping into his light and owning who he is. He’s more confident, totally confident in himself now.”

During the pandemic, Chen, Brezina and Bell built a tiny training bubble and spent time with each other off the ice, too, playing games like Pictionary and Cards Against Humanity on weekend nights and eating dinners together at Brezina’s house, with Brezina’s wife, Danielle, who is a former skater, and their 2-year-old daughter, Naya.

“Nathan is the first in the rink and the last one to leave and also wins all of our game nights,” Bell said with a laugh. “But we still love him.”

The Brezinas got to know Chen well during the pandemic. They would see him watching a university lecture on his iPad at three times the normal speed because he processed information so quickly, and would marvel at him as he tried to teach their daughter how to play guitar and piano on kid-sized instruments, but of course, as a perfectionist, he had to tune them first.

“It was so interesting to learn how his mind worked,” Michal Brezina, a four-time Olympian, said. “He’s good at everything.”
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Interview with NBC LA
 
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