Nathan Chen Bio: Career, Education, Net Worth & Family

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Nathan Chen, a three-time world champion and 2022 Olympic Champion, is an iconic American Figure Skater who is regarded as the most outstanding figure skater of all time. Chen, entitled “2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Sports List” by Forbes Magazine, is known for his unparalleled athleticism in figure skating.

He is of Chinese descent, having been born in Utah to a scientific researcher father and a medical translator mother.

Nathan Chen, the gold medalist of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, has made his permanent imprint in figure skating. 

Chen commenced early in his life, working on his art despite what people talked about.

Nathan-Chan
American Figure Skater Nathan Chan, flaunting his moves (Source: Facebook)

Today, he gives us an eye candy of artistic movements that are graceful enough to fall for it.

He is the six-time U.S. national champion making his mark as the first skater to have five different quadruple jumps in competitions: toe loop, Salchow,  loop, flip, and Lutz.

“Regardless of what I do, no matter how good it is, it’s never in my mind’ flawless.'”
-Nathan Chen

Quick Facts

Full Name Nathan Wei Chen
Date of Birth May 5, 1999
Birthplace Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Nick Name Quad King
Religion Christianity
Nationality Chinese American
Ethnicity Asian
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Age 24 Years Old
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 12 in)
Weight 60 kg (133 lb)
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Black
Build Athletic
Father’s Name Zhidong Chen
Mother’s Name Hetty Wang
Siblings Two older sisters: Alice Chen and Janice Chen
Two older brothers: Tony Chen and Colin Chen
Education West High School
The rim of the World High School
California Connections Academy
Ballet West Academy
Yale University
Marital Status Unmarried
Girlfriend Amber Glenn (2016-2017)
Mai Mihara (2017 rumored girlfriend)
Profession Figure Skater
Skating Club Salt Lake Figure Skating
Choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne
Coaches Rafael Arutyunyan, Nadia Kanaeva, Vera Arutyunyan
Active Years 2002-present
Net Worth $2.5 million-$5 million
Social Media Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
Merch Book
Last Update March, 2024

Where is Nathan Chen from? Early Life and Family

Chen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, the United States, to his Chinese parents, Hetty Wang and Zhidong Chen.

Furthermore, Chen is the youngest of five siblings growing up with his older brothers and sisters: Alice, Janice, Tony, and Colin.

Chen-with-his-parents
Chen as a kid with his parents (Source: Instagram)

Besides, Chen’s parents moved to America in 1998, and his mother, Hetty, is a medical translator.

Additionally, Chen’s father used to be a medical research scientist and is now the MultiTarget Pharmaceuticals LLC president in Salt Lake City.

Going in-depth about his father, Mr.Chen holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics & Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Utah.

Following it, he was also a senior scientist at Genta Incorporated and Salus Therapeutics.

How tall is Nathan Chen? Age, Height, and Body Measurements

Having born in the year 1999 makes Nathan 24 years old as of now.

Likewise, Chen shares his birthday on May 5, making his birth sign Taurus

And from what we know, they are known for being intelligent, dependable, hardworking, dedicated, and passionate, among other signs.

Nathan Chen
Athletic-built, tall, and handsome Nathan Chen (Source: Instagram)

Moreover, Nathan Chen is an attractive man with a lovely personality who stands at a perfect height of 1.66 m (5 ft 5 12 inch).

Furthermore, as he weighs 60 kg (133 lb), he maintains a slim body fit for skaters.

Moving further, Chen has a rectangle-shaped solid face with a fair skin tone.

Besides, he has amazing eyes that are black, the same as his hair color. His face is held with his broad shoulders.

When did Nathan Chen start skating? Early Skating and Education

Chen began to get familiar with skating just at the young age of 3 when he used to try his sister’s white skating shoes.

It was back then, in 2003, when he had his foremost skating competition. Right then, he was attending a public school too.

According to the sources, Chen attended West High School in Salt Lake City and Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, California.

During his schooling days, Chen had already decided to make skating a part of his life.

Hence, when he was in the ninth grade, Chen started skating seriously and took his studies online.

When Chen commenced skating, his parents supported his athletic choice as his mother recalls his top moment on the ice.

“Nathan didn’t want to leave. He just stood there and cried and cried.”
-Hetty Wang

All in all, Nathan graduated from California Connections Academy.

Besides his figure skating, Chen is also enrolled in gymnastics and ballet as he has entered competitions for them.

Overall, Chen got his ballet lessons from Ballet West Academy and is currently attending Yale University until 2024.

He took a break from the University to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and is due to graduate in 2024.

Nathan Chen | Early Career

As he started working on skating seriously, Nathan first featured in the U.S. Junior Nationals for two years, in 2007 and 2008.

He first stood in tenth place, followed by the improvised third place in the Junior level.

Alongside that, for the same event, he bagged the silver medal in 2009, as he entered the intermediate level.

Nathan-Chen
Nathan Chen at 2012 U.S. Championships (Source: Pinterest)

The following year, Chen had his first stepping stone; he became the youngest novice champion in U.S. Figure Skating history.

Next year, he partook in the same event, the 2011 U.S. Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he saved his title for himself.

Additionally, jump specialists Rafael Arutyunyan and Genia Chernyshova prepared him further for the 2012 U.S. Championships on January 24.

Junior International Level

Nathan Chen’s major international debut came in September 2012 through JGP Austria in Linz.

He had a successful career opening with a gold medal in the field as he recorded 222 points.

Unfortunately, due to his leg injury, he couldn’t continue further; hence, he had to partake the following year.

Thus, in his junior level, he maintained his bronze medal at the 2013 U.S. Championships in Omaha, Nebraska.

nathan-chen-at-Junior Level Bulagaria
Nathan Chen at the Junior Level championship (Source: Pinterest)

Chen had a good winning streak as he claimed gold for the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Mexico, the Junior Grand Prix Final in Japan, and bronze in the 2014 World Junior Championships in Bulgaria.

Furthermore, he also broke the six-year-old record of junior men.

Senior National Level

In late 2014, Chen moved into the senior level of skating as he made his senior debut at the Pacific Sectional Championships.

In 2015, Chen had his heel injury, so; he was only in the scaled-back versions of his short and long programs.

Later, in 2016, Chen bagged the gold medal in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.

Besides, in the 2016 U.S. Championship, he also became the first American to land two quadruple jumps in the short program, followed by the first to have four quadruples in the long program.

Chen couldn’t attend the 2016 World Junior Championships due to his left hip surgery.

Thus, this took him a month to heal under the U.S. Olympic Training Center (OTC) rehabilitation center.

Senior Internation Level

During Chen’s senior level, he was guided by the coaches Marina Zueva and Oleg Epstein.

Altogether, Chen had an overwhelming start to his senior international level with a gold medal in the 2016 C.S. Finlandia Trophy.

The same year, he also broke the Olympic champion Evan Lysacek’s record of 90.3 with his own 93.85.

Chen was also the second-youngest male skater to earn a medal at GPF.

Altogether, Chen had gained the 2017 Four Continents as he won the short program, followed by being the second in the 2017 World Team Trophy.

Nathan Chen | 2022 Winter Olympics Beijing

Entering the Olympics season, Nathan was choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne, and under her, he managed to land on five different quads in a competition.

During his tenure, Chen starred alongside his U.S. Team members, Jeremy Abbott, Karen Chen, and Mirai Nagasu.

nathan-chen-final
Nathan Chen at 2022  Winter Olympics in Beijing (Source: TIME)

The 22-year-old Chen skated to Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Rocket Man” for an almost flawless free skate to achieve an Olympic record total score of 332.61, improving on a disappointing fifth-place finish from four years earlier.

“It had always been a dream of mine, and it’s a pretty daunting mountain,”

Chen added, “It’s a whirlwind right now. I had a blast out there.”

Chen won the gold medal with five quad jumps while skating to the soundtrack of “Rocketman.”
 
However, Chen withdrew from the 2022 World Championships due to injury.

How many quads did Nathan Chen land in the free skate at Olympics 2018?

Nathan Chen attempted six quads and landed five cleanly in the free skate at Olympics 2018.

He became the first man to attempt six quads in Olympics history.

Moreover, Nathan was placed first in the free skate with a score of 215.08, which is the highest in Olympic history.

He earned a score of 297.35 to move up twelve places from the short program to finish in fifth place overall.

Nathan Chen | Achievements

Some of his achievements throughout his journey are highlighted below.

  • first Grand Prix title at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup (Moscow)
  • first Grand Prix Final title (third American in the history to do so)
  • 2018 U.S. Championships (gained his seven quadruple jumps)
  • 2018 Winter Olympics (bronze medal for one of the youngest male figure skaters)
  • 2018 World Figure Skating Championships (broke record of 320 points after Yuzuru Hanyu)
  • Skate America and Internationaux de France (Winner)
  • 2018-19 Grand Prix Finals (consecutive gold medals at the event after Evgeni Plushenko, Patrick Chan, and Yuzuru Hanyu)
  • first male figure skater to win three straight national titles since Johnny Weir
  • 2019 World Championships (broke world record for free skates and total score with 216.02 and 323.42 points)
  • 2019 World Team Trophy (Gold Medal)
  • Grand Prix Final (first single to win eight straight Grand Prix after Evgeni Plushenko, the first skater to win all Grand Prix events in the third consecutive season)
  • 2020 U.S. Championships (Winner)

Is Nathan Chen still skating? March, 2022

Chen attended Yale University in 2018 with a statistics and data science major.

Besides, he is doing his skating during recess and off time.

“I don’t mind the training atmosphere I am in, and I am so thankful Yale has given me the ice time to pursue my dreams outside of school. I feel like I am improving from competition to competition. This gives me a lot of confidence going into the future.”
-Nathan Chen

Skate America 2020
Nathan Chen at Skate America 2020 (Source: Getty Images)

As of 2024, Chen attended the World Championships, but the outbroke of the pandemic made it all down the drain.

However, after a bit of stillness, they commenced the Grand Prix series amidst the pandemic.

Thus, Chen attended it and won both the short program and the free skate.

He took a school break to focus on the Olympics; after all, for everyone, the Olympics was the end goal.

Chen-in-Japan-for-Ice-Skating
Chen in Japan for Ice Skating, which was an excellent show (Source: Instagram)

Not long ago, in the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships, Nathan Chen bagged the men’s championship.

He entered the event in third place behind Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu; however, he surpassed Yuzuru by 29.11 points.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say this was my best free program ever, but it’s definitely one that I’ll remember forever.”
-Nathan Chen 

Following it, Chen also set a short program record at the U.S. figure skating championships on January 8, 2022.

Back then, he featured superb footwork and spins, posting a total of 115.39 points. His point of 115.39 also beats the national mark of 114.13 he set in 2020.

Nathan Chen | Training, Coaches, Diet, and Locations

Chen is an important figure in skating, world-renowned for his sports and artistic skates.

Chen wakes up at 7:30 in the morning to attend his 8:40 training.

Chen has worked under coaches such as Marina Zoueva, Evgenia Chernyshova, Stephanie Grosscup, Karel Kovar, and Amanda Kovar.

He is currently coached by Rafael Arutyunyan, Nadia Kanaeva, and Vera Arutyunyan at Irvine, California.

Working for his skates, Chen attends the gym for two hours every day, while his training off the ice and on ice lasts for 4-5 hours.

Also, Nathan is a young athlete; hence, he doesn’t have to maintain hardcore nutrition; however, he has two meals, breakfast, and dinner, with some side eating.

To keep his fitness, Chen focuses on the top ten food items: watermelon, spinach, oranges, quinoa, broccoli, eggs, kiwi, tofu, bell peppers, and dark chocolate.

Nathan Chen | Honors and Awards

  • Named to the 2022 Time 100 List (The 100 Most Influential People of 2022).
  • “2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Sports List”
  • 2019 Male Olympic Athlete of the Year by U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee
  • 2019 Gustave Lussi Award – a prestigious Professional Skaters Association’s Edi Award
  • Salt Lake County made May 16 “Nathan Chen Day.”
  • Team USA’s Top 16 Men Of 2016, Top 17 Men Of 2017,Top 18 Men Of 2018, Top 19 Men Of 2019
  • Team USA’s Best Male Athlete of the Month in December 2016, January, October, December 2017, January, November 2018, January, March, October, November, December 2019
  • SKATING magazine’s 2016–17, 2017–18, and 2018-19 Readers’ Choice Award (Michelle Kwan Trophy)
  • Gold House A100 honorees (2018, 2019 & 2020)
  • 2017 “Next Generation Leaders” by the Time
  • Michael Weiss Foundation Scholarship (2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009) 
  • 2012 Ron and Gayle Hershberger Award
  • 2011 Athlete Alumni Ambassador Award
  • 2011 & 2010 Cecilia Colledge Memorial Fund award
  • ABC News Person of the Week aired on February 19, 2010

How much money does Nathan Chen make? Net Worth and Income

Nathan Chen has been one of the most searched athletes on the internet, and he has a luxury net worth at a young age, which boasts $2.5 to $5 million.

Not to mention, his prize money is also high dollars.

As we talk about his brand endorsements, he has featured Kellogg’s, Bridgestone, United Airlines, Nike, and Coca-Cola.

Additionally, Chen has his own set of skates, which he is mainly seen to use Jackson Ultima Skates.

“I love my Jackson boots because they fit great, and they’re key to my quads.”
-Nathan Chen

Expenses

Having said these, before getting amazed by how he, as a teenager, made such a huge amount, let’s get through his expenses a bit.

When it comes to figuring skating is one of the most expensive sports out there, and Chen has been doing it since 2002.

All this means he needs 18 years of lessons, training, travel, and costumes added with treatments, surgeries, and all.

for every competition he wins, Chen has to pay a tax of $37,500, adding an estimated amount of $600 for the medal’s value.

With this comes the extra expenses in his choreography classes, ballet lessons, skating equipment, and specialized medical costs.

Overall, Chen does have his worth of money and sees it as quite extraordinarily beautiful, a young athlete thriving out himself.

Nathan Chen | Beyond Figure Skating & Dates

Nathan Chen is a Chinese-American; however, his Chinese is not as good as expected by many.

At first, Chen was interested in ice hockey.

However, his mother kept him up for figure skating to make things safe.

Besides skating, Chen has been learning piano since the age of five, and at present, he can also play guitar alongside a little bit of Violin.

In the bargain, Chen had also attended gymnastics and ballet lessons.

In 2017, Nathan Chen was dating fellow figure skater Amber Glenn, a U.S. Junior Ladies National figure skating champion.

Nathan-Chen-Amber-Glenn-Distractify
Nathan Chen and Amber Glenn together (Source: Distractify)

The duo was open about their relationship, sharing their love for each other; however, their relationship sadly didn’t last long.

Afterward, in 2017 with things silent about these two, Mai Mihara started appearing in Chen’s feeds.

Mai Mihara is also a figure skater from Japan who is rumored to be Chen’s girlfriend; however, the details are enclosed.

HarperCollins will release Chen’s memoir, “One Jump at a Time: My Story,” on November 22, 2022.

HarperCollins Children’s Books will publish its first picture book in February 2023.

Social Media Presence: Nathan Chen

Nathan Chen is quite active on social networking sites. You can follow him via these links:

Instagram handle 639k Followers 
Twitter handle 109.3k Followers
Facebook handle 41k Followers

Popularity Graph: Nathan Chen

In Figure Skating, Chen is considered the “Greatest Of All Time.”

Hence, he is quite a famous Olympic champion who keeps surfacing over the internet glamor now and then.

Nathan-Chen-Trending-Worldwide
Nathan Chen Trending Worldwide in the past 90 days (Source: Google)

The above graph shows the google searches worldwide in the past 3 months.

Some FAQs: Nathan Chen

Is Nathan Chen Korean?

Nathan Chen is not Korean. He is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from China in 1988.

Is Nathan Chen still competing?

With the cool of COVID-19, Chen is reported to be taking a break from his studies for skating. Sadly, he has announced his retirement from World Championships.

What skates does Nathan Chen use?

Nathan Chen uses Jackson Ultima Skates.

What happened to Nathan Chen?

The American figure skater Nathan Chen failed to win an Olympic gold medal and finished fifth place in the men’s singles competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Are Nathan and Karen Chen related?

No, Nathan Chen and American figure skater Karen Chen are not related to each other. Nathan and Karen Chen may share the last name, but they are not brothers and sisters.

What rink does Nathan Chen train at?

Nathan Chen trains at “Ingalls Rink” in New Haven, Connecticut.

Where does Nathan Chen live?

Nathan Chen resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. However, his hometown is Salt lake City, Utah.

Did Nathan Chen retire?

Unfortunately, It is with regret that Nathan Chen has withdrawn from the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022, U.S.

Chen said, “I am disappointed to have to withdraw from World Championships.” 

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Rajani Gurung
Rajani Gurung
Hey, I'm Rajani! As a digital content writer, I write for several websites on a wide range of topics. At Playersbio, I cover to write about hot trending celebrities and news. My professional experience makes me write the hard topics in a simplified manner for easiness.

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