Nathan Chen won't defend Olympic figure skating gold in Italy
The American athlete revealed his decision in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on Saturday.
Chen stated he will focus on pursuing medical studies rather than returning to competitive skating for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
'I just want to open doors to kind of see what's the best sort of approach for me,' Chen told the newspaper.
'And frankly, at this point in time in my life, I've already accomplished enough in skating that I'm quite satisfied with my career.'
The 26-year-old Yale graduate has won six US championships and three world titles during his decorated career.
Chen helped secure team gold for the United States at the 2022 Beijing Olympics before claiming the individual men's crown.
Known for his technical mastery of quadruple jumps, Chen holds the world record combined score of 335.30 set at the 2019 Grand Prix Final in Turin.
The skater nicknamed the 'Quad King' is now exploring medical school options with interest in cardiology or oncology.
'The basis of being a doctor, I think, is to help people,' Chen said.
'I think that's something that I didn't necessarily feel as an athlete.'
Chen's decision marks the end of an era in men's figure skating following his dominant performances in recent years. – AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Athletics-Olympic 100m champion Alfred to miss Diamond League meets with injury
(Refiles fixing typo in headline. No change to text.) (Reuters) -Olympic 100 metres champion Julien Alfred will miss three upcoming Diamond League meetings in August due to injury, event organisers said on Tuesday. The 24-year-old from Saint Lucia will miss the upcoming meets in Silesia, Lausanne and Brussels. She was slated to run the 100m at the Silesia Diamond League and the 200m in Lausanne. Alfred has clocked 10.75 seconds over 100m this season and is ranked second in the world. She last competed at the London Diamond League where she won the 200m in a personal-best 21.71. Alfred has won four races from her five Diamond League appearances in 2025 and secured qualification for the 100m at the final in Zurich, which runs from August 27-28. (Reporting by Shifa Jahan in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
Free Malaysia Today
10 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Tributes pour in for legendary Japan striker hailed by Pele
Kunishige Kamamoto (centre) was the top scorer at the 1968 Olympics with seven goals. (Jiji Press/AFP pic) TOKYO : Japanese football has paid tribute to Kunishige Kamamoto after the country's most prolific striker died aged 81. Kamamoto, who scored 75 goals in 76 appearances for Japan, died yesterday of pneumonia. 'Mr Kamamoto was truly an unparalleled striker,' Japan Football Association president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said in a statement. The Kyoto native is best remembered for his exploits at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, where he was the top scorer with seven goals and led Japan to the bronze medal. With stamina, agility and physical strength, Kamamoto was first called up to the national squad aged 19. In 1967 he joined Yanmar Diesel, now Cerezo Osaka, plundering 202 goals in 251 games until his retirement in 1984. During the final years of his playing career he also worked as Yanmar's manager. After football Kamamoto shifted to politics, becoming an upper house lawmaker in 1995. He also worked on Japan's bid to host the 2002 World Cup, which was co-hosted with South Korea. Current Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said Kamamoto 'gave us a ray of hope that Japanese football can compete on the international stage', according to Kyodo News. 'I'm hoping for a player who could eventually eclipse Mr Kamamoto to emerge,' he added. Kazuyoshi Miura, the former Japan international forward who is still playing aged 58, said Brazilian legend Pele had called Kamamoto 'a great striker'. Pele played in Kamamoto's retirement match, Kyodo said. 'When I heard King Pele call him a 'great striker', I was really proud as a Japanese, and I can still remember that now,' said Miura, who is second in Japan's list of all-time scorers.
The Star
10 hours ago
- The Star
Young divers Yiat Qing and Enrique won't get chance to defend titles at SEA Games
Malaysia's Enrique Harold competes in the preliminary round of the men's 10m platform diving event during the 2024 World Aquatics Championships at Hamad Aquatics Centre in Doha on February 9, 2024. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) PETALING JAYA: In a major surprise, diving talents Lee Yiat Qing and Enrique Harold Maccartney will not get the chance to win back-to-back SEA Games gold medals for Malaysia in December. Yiat Qing and Enrique joined seasoned diver Pandelela Rinong on the sidelines as Malaysia bank on a relatively inexperienced squad to maintain their dominance in the sport. Pandelela's lingering injury put paid to the younger Yiat Qing's chances to make a second SEA Games appearance in the women's 10m platform synchro event. Yiat Qing was paired off with Pandelela a few months back to prepare for the women's 10m platform synchro event. It is the only event for women's diving while the men's action s will see contests in the 1m and 3m springboard individual, and 3m springboard synchro. Yiat Qing was only 15 when she made her SEA Games debut by winning gold in the women's 10m platform individual at the Cambodia SEA Games in 2023 and she was subsequently promoted to the Podium programme this year. Enrique claimed gold for Malaysia in the men's 10m platform individual but has to miss the SEA Games this time as the event has not been included by the Thailand organisers despite appeals from numerous countries. Nur Eilisha Rania and Nurul Farisya Alia Affendi will shoulder the challenge for gold in the women's 10m platform synchro. "Pandelela's shoulder injury has not improved and we have to exclude Yiat Qing for the SEA Games as there is no individual platform this time," said diving technical director Yeoh Ken Nee. "Rania and Farisya are the second ranked pair behind Pandelela-Yiat Qing in the women's 10m platform synchro and gold medallists for Sarawak in the event at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) last year. "Rania and Farisya finished second and are not far off from Pandelela-Yiat Qing in the national trials, so hopefully they can get their act together at the SEA Games.'' Nur Eilisha and Nurul, together with Elvis Priestly Anak Clement, are going under category B while defending men's 3m springboard champion Mohd Syafiq Puteh will compete under category A along with debutants Nurqayyum Nazmi Mohd Nazim and Yong Rui Jie. Elvis was Malaysia's best individual performer at the World Championships in Singapore recently when he reached the semi-finals (top 18) of the men's 10m platform individual. But Elvis will have to see action in the men's 3m springboard this time. "It is not confirmed yet as to who will compete in what events for the springboard divers,'' added Ken Nee. "We do have a tough fight going on for the gold medals this time, especially from Singapore but we will try our best to continue the good results." The last time Malaysia did not finish with a clean sweep in diving was at the 2017 SEA Games. Malaysia bagged a total of 13 gold medals but had to surrender the women's 3m springboard synchro title to Singapore after Wendy Ng Yan Yee committed a doping violation. In Cambodia, Malaysia won a total of four gold, two silver and one bronze medals.
