Two Time Olympian! Karen Chen Cheer Thread

VGThuy said:
In Karen’s celebratory IG post, she made sure to tag Jackson Ultima boot company. I wonder how Avanta is doing.
Click to expand...

Congrats on a very nice performance to save us 3 spots in Int'l comp. next season; the Olympics right around the corner! :rolleyes:
 
Karen was able to forget everything else and skate almost perfectly, with joy and maturity. She was one of the highlights of this Worlds for me, and her placing this high for a second time makes it very arguable that she is our best skater. (I already thought so but it's nice to be vindicated.) Her natural gifts are so great that at her best she's not just excellent but glorious. It's wonderful to see her consistency and confidence.
 
I admit it - I had doubted USFS' decision to send her to Worlds, but hey I am so happy to be proven wrong. Twice she helped US secure 3 spots for the Olympics and was the top US lady. This is so inspirational.

And if there's any way to love her free skate even more, it's when she skated it absolutely amazingly like she did here! This is by far the performance that I would rewatch the most from the entire event! The absolute star of the event for me.

(she did get lucky with the call on the 3/3 in the short but as I said in the other thread, it all evened out since she got lower PCS than what she deserved - same for the free)
 
Time to bump up Karen's fan thread! :cheer2: Hey @BlueRidge, would you like to have an admin. update your cheer thread title to include Two-time Olympian now? :)

@clairecloutier posted this link to NBC Olympics' "Meet the Athlete" Q&A feature with Karen back in December 2021:
www.nbcolympics.com

Meet the Athletes: Karen Chen

Get to know Olympian Karen Chen as she eyes another Olympic berth in 2022.
www.nbcolympics.com www.nbcolympics.com

NBC Olympics fluff video (filmed before Nationals) in which Karen talks about her connecttion to Kristi Yamaguchi and her book that was published 4 years ago:
www.nbcchicago.com

California Town Brought Team USA Kristi Yamaguchi, Now Karen Chen

Fremont, California would not be the first place most look when it comes to finding Olympic figure skaters, but Karen Chen knows that if Fremont was good enough for Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, it’s good enough for her.
www.nbcchicago.com www.nbcchicago.com

Kristi was one of many to comment on Karen's Jan. 8th Instagram posts (this one was after she was named officially to the 2022 Olympic team): https://www.instagram.com/p/CYfLDZQvbH1/
After Karen finished competing: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYeMm98Lsls/
my performances were far from perfect, but I’m truly so proud of my fight & determination through every single second of the program. I’m also so thankful to have had this opportunity to compete here. & lastly, thank you for all so much for the wonderful support! please stay safe & healthy! ?
Click to expand...
Karen-related excerpts from Phil Hersh's article before the women competed at Nationals (Jan. 4, 2022):
olympics.nbcsports.com

Keeping promise to herself, figure skater Karen Chen looks for an Olympic redo

The 2018 Olympian is among a handful of Olympic team contenders competing for three spots, including Alysa Liu and Mariah Bell.
olympics.nbcsports.com olympics.nbcsports.com
Karen Chen left the 2018 Winter Olympics so disappointed over the subpar performances that left her in 11th place that she immediately vowed to try again.
“When I got off the ice, I remember telling myself, `You’ve got to go for another four years. This was not your dream,’” Chen said in a recent media conference. ... <smip> ...
“The jumbling of skating and school and managing that gave me quite a bit of clarity about how much I love the sport and that I wanted to give myself my best shot at making the team again,” Chen said.
“That fire just relit inside me, and I knew that it’s only going to get harder as you get older, so now is the time to chase those dreams.”
Click to expand...
Chen’s surprising fourth-place finish at the 2021 World Championships was the key to the U.S. earning a third spot ... <snip> ...
Chen, ever modest, plays down those two high finishes at the high-pressure pre-Olympic worlds, where results determine each nation’s number of spots in the ensuing Winter Games.
“The way I look at worlds is obviously the reason I got fourth was because a lot of the other competitors had some stumbles, and I managed to skate clean,” Chen said. “In a way, I was prepared to be lucky, and I delivered what I could do, and luck just happened to be in my favor.”
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Sylvia said:
Time to bump up Karen's fan thread! :cheer2: Hey @BlueRidge, would you like to have an admin. update your cheer thread title to include Two-time Olympian now? :)

@clairecloutier posted this link to NBC Olympics' "Meet the Athlete" Q&A feature with Karen back in December 2021:
www.nbcolympics.com

Meet the Athletes: Karen Chen

Get to know Olympian Karen Chen as she eyes another Olympic berth in 2022.
www.nbcolympics.com www.nbcolympics.com

NBC Olympics fluff video (filmed before Nationals) in which Karen talks about her connecttion to Kristi Yamaguchi and her book that was published 4 years ago:
www.nbcchicago.com

California Town Brought Team USA Kristi Yamaguchi, Now Karen Chen

Fremont, California would not be the first place most look when it comes to finding Olympic figure skaters, but Karen Chen knows that if Fremont was good enough for Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, it’s good enough for her.
www.nbcchicago.com www.nbcchicago.com

Kristi was one of many to comment on Karen's Jan. 8th Instagram posts (this one was after she was named officially to the 2022 Olympic team): https://www.instagram.com/p/CYfLDZQvbH1/
After Karen finished competing: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYeMm98Lsls/

Karen-related excerpts from Phil Hersh's article before the women competed at Nationals (Jan. 4, 2022):
olympics.nbcsports.com

Keeping promise to herself, figure skater Karen Chen looks for an Olympic redo

The 2018 Olympian is among a handful of Olympic team contenders competing for three spots, including Alysa Liu and Mariah Bell.
olympics.nbcsports.com olympics.nbcsports.com
Click to expand...
That quote you highlighted:

Chen’s surprising fourth-place finish at the 2021 World Championships was the key to the U.S. earning a third spot ... <snip> ...
Chen, ever modest, plays down those two high finishes at the high-pressure pre-Olympic worlds, where results determine each nation’s number of spots in the ensuing Winter Games.
“The way I look at worlds is obviously the reason I got fourth was because a lot of the other competitors had some stumbles, and I managed to skate clean,” Chen said. “In a way, I was prepared to be lucky, and I delivered what I could do, and luck just happened to be in my favor.”
Click to expand...

That shows me Karen may be super aware of how she fits in competition and maybe sometimes it can be to her detriment. She just needs to go out there and be the warrior she can be.
 
Karen flew from Los Angeles to Beijing via Delta's first Team USA charter flight on 1/27/22 and the first photos of her practicing on Olympic ice at the Capital Indoor Stadium competition rink are dated January 30, 2022: [click on this link to view her photos published on Getty Images]
(I didn't know "Tamara" was Tammy Gambill's formal first name until I saw the photo caption.)

Karen shared this photo from the same practice on her Instagram (captioning it "keeping it real @beijing2022 with my lopsided double mask & used tissue in the foreground ?"): https://www.instagram.com/p/CZUNnd7l98e/

I came across this Cornell University feature article (originally published on Oct. 5, 2021) that was updated after she was named to the Olympic team following 2022 Nationals in January:
alumni.cornell.edu

Karen Chen ’23 Aims for Gold in Beijing - Cornellians | Cornell University

The champion figure skater is on leave from her studies to focus on her sport.
alumni.cornell.edu
 
I was rewatching some old Karen Chen performances and I forgot how wonderful and inspired her 2020 Four Continents skate was. It made me the most emotional out of all of her performances, including her Nationals winning one and the four performances that got her 4th at Worlds twice.


I think this was the performance she needed to keep going and not give up. It led to her 2020-21 season which led to her now. I know Karen in the Fall leaves a lot for us to desire but I hope she’s shaken off all of her doubts and demons and just skates this inspired and beautifully (and a few less or even no > or downgrade calls ;) .) in both the team and individual events in Beijing.
 
Snippet from NBC Sports' Feb. 3rd press release about their primetime coverage starting tonight through Saturday:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5
The women’s short program portion of the figure skating team event is expected to be led by 2018 Olympian Karen Chen and will be presented Saturday live in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Click to expand...
This article headline initially scared me :lol: but this is a retrospective of Karen's career so far:
www.thelist.com

The Truth About U.S. Figure Skater Karen Chen - The List

U.S. Olympic figure skater Karen Chen is a star both on and off the ice.
www.thelist.com www.thelist.com
 
Well I wish her the best. Everyone know it's a farce, but I hope she can at least deliver her programs beautifully, as only she can.
 
Despite the mistakes I enjoyed her a lot in the SP. I happened to watched some of the performances many times (Karen's among them) while editing the videos and the girl was on fire. Pity for the tech. but I thought she filled the arena with her performance. That's a big music and it isn't easy but she did it. I truly loved it.
 
Karen skated very well except for the 3loop. Adam Rippon mentioned during Olympic Ice that Karen was doing well at practices & skating better than ever -- high praise given that he's coaching Mariah. I can't wait to see how they do in the morning!
 
livetoskate said:
Karen skated very well except for the 3loop. Adam Rippon mentioned during Olympic Ice that Karen was doing well at practices & skating better than ever -- high praise given that he's coaching Mariah. I can't wait to see how they do in the morning!
Click to expand...
I thought Mariah was beautiful to watch too. As a performance/interpretation and skating quality I can't find fault with that girl. I loved the program too. Good job from Adam.
 
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