Light & Verity

Good as gold

Nathan Chen '24 wins big in Beijing.

Annice Lyn/Getty Images

Annice Lyn/Getty Images

View full image

Yalies around the world cheered on Nathan Chen ’24 in February as he aimed for the missing piece on an otherwise sparkling list of figure skating accomplishments: Olympic gold. Despite six consecutive US men’s championships, three world titles, and an unmatched toolbelt of quadruple jumps, Chen had missed the podium at the 2018 Olympics, settling for a bronze medal as a member of the US team.

His performance in Beijing erased all doubts as to his ability to perform on the world’s biggest stage. He earned a personal best in the short program as part of the team event, helping the American team win the silver. He topped that a few days later with a world record in the individual short program, then delivered a joyful free-skate program to a medley from the Elton John biopic Rocketman—more than enough to win him the singles gold medal.

In the lead-up to the Winter Games, Chen was on a leave of absence from Yale, where he had trained at Ingalls Rink while enrolled. Although we don’t know his future plans, his short-term plans are clear: the statistics and data science major is headed back to New Haven in the fall.

The comment period has expired.