Nathan Wei Chen, better known as Nathan Chen, is a well-known American figure who works as a skateboarder. Chen has earned the moniker “Quad King” for his effortless ability to perform quadruple leaps.
He is the first skater to land all five quadruple leaps in a single competition – toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, and Lutz – as well as eight quadruple jumps (2018 World Championships). In the year 2002, he began skating.
Chen is a six-time Junior Grand Prix medalist and the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, as well as the 2013–14 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2014 World Junior bronze medalist, and the 2013–14 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist (5 golds, 1 silver). Chen also contributed to the United States Olympic team winning bronze in the 2018 team event and silver in the 2022 team event.
Nathan Chen Biography Quick Facts
Chen has the highest winning percentage in competitions in the modern era and has the longest win streak in history from 2018-to 2021. Nathan is a world-famous figure skater born on May 5, 1999. He was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is nicknamed Quad King. Chen is a Christian and is a Taurus.
Personal Life
Nathan Chen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Zhidong Chen and Hetty Wang, two Chinese immigrants from Laibin, Guangxi, and Beijing, respectively. Chen’s mother is a medical translator and his father is a research scientist.
Alice, Tony, Colin, and Janice Chen, formerly of the Jennifer Doudna lab and co-founder of Mammoth Biosciences, are Chen’s younger siblings. Nathan graduated from California Connections Academy after attending West High School in Salt Lake City and Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, California.
He also trained in ballet with Ballet West Academy and competed in gymnastics for seven years at the state and regional levels, reaching level 9. As a child, he also played the piano and, more recently, the guitar. Chén Wi is his Chinese name.
Chen began his studies at Yale University’s Jonathan Edwards College in the fall of 2018, majoring in Statistics and Data Science. After his sophomore year, he took a leave of absence to prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and he will return to college in the fall of 2022. In 2024, he will receive his diploma.
Chen’s memoir “One Jump at a Time: My Story” will be published by HarperCollins on November 22, 2022, and his first picture book will be published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in February 2023.
Nathan Chen – Early Life, Education
Qualification: Statistics and Data Science Major
School: California Connections Academy
College: Yale University
Chen began figure skating at the age of three, using his sister’s skates. In 2003, he competed in his first figure skating competition. He qualified for the US Junior Nationals in the juvenile and intermediate levels from 2007 to 2009. At the 2007 and 2008 Junior Nationals, he finished 10th and 3rd in the junior divisions, respectively. He won the intermediate men’s silver medal at the 2009 Junior Nationals.
In the 2009–10 season, Chen was promoted to the beginner level. In the age of ten, he won the national novice title at the 2010 U.S. Championships in Spokane, Washington, becoming the youngest novice champion in the sport’s history. He chose to stay at the novice level for the 2010–2011 season due to his young age, and he defended his novice title at the 2011 U.S. Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Chen was promoted to the junior level for the 2011–2012 season. Genia Chernyshova was his coach, and he also traveled to Lake Arrowhead, California, to work with Rafael Arutyunyan, a jump specialist. In mid-December 2011, Arutyunyan took over as his primary coach. On January 24, 2012, Chen won the junior men’s title in the 2012 U.S. Championships in San Jose, California. He won the novice men’s event at the 2012 Gardena Spring Trophy in Selva Val Gardena, Italy, on his maiden international outing.
Skating Technique
Chen is regarded as one of the best figure skaters of all time for his technical prowess and effect on the sport. Throughout his career, he has broken numerous world records, including the all-time world marks for the short programmes, free programs, and combined total scores. He is widely credited for pushing the limits of athletic ability in the sport by performing the most technically difficult routines in the world.
Chen is the first and only skater to land five different quadruple leaps in competition, including the toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, and Lutz. At the 2017 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, he became the first skater to land five quads in a free skate program and seven quads in sanctioned competition. He is still the only skater to land seven clean (excellent) quads in a single competition, two in the short program and five in the free skate, which he did for the first time at the 2019 Grand Prix Final.
Chen had the top scores for the following quadruple jumps under the new ISU Judging System: 4Lz (16.43), 4F (15.40), 4S (14.83), 4F+3T (20.23), 4Lz+3T (21.21), and the second-highest scores for the following quadruple jumps: 4T (13.71), 4T+3T (18.46), 4T+1Eu+3S (17.01), 4T+1Eu+3F (17. (19.14). Under the new ISU Judging System, Chen has the highest possible ChSq1 score of 5.50 and the highest possible StSq4 score of 5.85 among male and female singles skaters.
Senior Career
During the 2016–2017 season, Chen made his senior international debut, capturing gold at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy. In the 2016 Trophée de France in Paris, he made his Grand Prix series debut. Nathan finished second in the 2016 NHK Trophy in Sapporo. Nathan won the 2017 Four Continents in February, becoming only the third person in history to get over 100 points in a short program.
At the men’s event at the 2018 Winter Olympics, he and teammate Jason Brown, who finished eighth, clinched three spots for the United States. At the 2017 Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Chen earned his first Grand Prix title. Nathan qualified for the 2018–19 Grand Prix Final by winning both Skate America and Internationaux de France. Chen won his third consecutive Grand Prix in the 2019-202 season at Skate America in Las Vegas, defending his title.
Chen created history by capturing his fifth consecutive National title at the 2021 U.S. Championships. In the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Chen finished third. Nathan won his sixth consecutive men’s title at the 2022 U.S. Championships in Nashville. Chen won gold in the men’s short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics, setting an international figure skating world record with a score of 113.97.
Nathan Chen’s Net Worth
Nathan Chen’s net worth is projected to be the US $2.5 million as of February 2022. His vast riches came from his spectacular ice-skating career. Post winning the World Figure Skating Championships in 2018, 2019, and 2021, he collected a remarkable $868,000 in prize money, bringing his total prize money to 2.6 million dollars from three tournaments.
Nathan earns roughly $500 thousand per year through competing in Grand Prix competitions, US Figure Skating Championships, World Figure Skating Championships, and other skating events, making him one of the highest-paid skaters in 2022. His endorsement deals also bring in a lot of money for him.
In the 12 months running up to the 2022 Olympics, Forbes believes Chen earned at least $1 million in guaranteed payments from his sponsors.