U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen on Monday said his disappointing performance at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018 gave him a fresh perspective on the sport.
Chen was forced to settle for fifth place in the individual competition in South Korea, and left with just a bronze medal in the team event despite sky-high expectations.
But the 22-year-old has been unstoppable since and picked up his third straight world championship in March.
¡°Having the opportunity to have such a rough skate at the previous Olympics gave me the insight that skating, while it is incredibly important and the thing I¡¯ve literally done every day since I was three, is also just a passion project for me,¡± Chen said at the USOPC media summit.
¡°That sounds a little like I don¡¯t care that much about skating ... but there¡¯s a life outside of skating. At some point in the near future I will have to take a step away from skating. I won¡¯t be able to skate for the rest of my life.¡±
Chen, who will go into February¡¯s Beijing Games once again as a favorite, said he now realizes that every competition is an opportunity to show the work he has been putting into his craft.
¡°I have a limited number of competitions in my life and I want to make the most out of every one and try to enjoy myself the best I can,¡± he said.
¡°I find that when I¡¯m able to adopt that mentality, I¡¯m able to skate a lot better or at least put myself in a position where I feel a lot more relaxed and can enjoy it rather than worrying about what the outcome will be.¡±
Chen has also become more outspoken on social issues like voting rights and racial inequality since his last Games.
¡°The last four years have given me a lot of opportunities to learn more about what¡¯s going on in the world. I¡¯ve spent my entire life since I was three years old basically in an ice rink,¡± he said.
¡°But fortunately I was also able to go to college starting in 2018 and that gave me a little more exposure of what the real world is like,¡± he said.
¡°It¡¯s great to be able to at least figure out yourself and where you belong and how you can create whatever positive influence you can.¡±
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