Person of the Week: Nathan Chen

Feb. 19, 2010— -- Nathan Chen has the attention of the figure-skating world with his four triples and seven double-jumps. His bag of tricks puts him on par with the other elite athletes of his sport. But what separates Nathan is that he's only 10.

"He is that young, he is that good," Nathan's coach, Genia Chernyshova, said. "It's not just what he's capable of, jumping-wise. But it's the quality of his skating overall."

Chernyshova said she has never seen so much raw talent at such a young age in all her years of coaching. "His body-mind connection is incredible," she said. "He's good at calculating; calculating his steps, calculating his timing, calculating all his points as he's skating."

His artistry is equally surprising, given his age. "There's so much grace and poise that you forget that he's 10," Chernyshova said.

Skating seems to be second-nature for the unassuming fifth-grader.

"For me, it doesn't feel that hard," he said. "It's just if I have enough speed and I have the right timing, it's pretty easy."

Nathan's parents first put him in skates at 3½ years old. He didn't like his teacher but he loved the ice, and quickly became serious about his training. By 5, he had already won his first competition, beating out around 20 other children in a local contest organized for Utah residents.

For the past two years, he's training two hours a day, six days a week in Salt Lake City. He also squeezes in gymnastics and ballet two or three times a week to complement his training on the ice. Meanwhile, he spends his spare time practicing piano and homework. The long days finally end around 10 pm.

"I don't know how he fits the skating into everything he does," his 5th grade teacher, Julie Anzelmo, said.

Unlike many professional-track figure skaters, Nathan still goes to public school, rather than being home-schooled. His friends know he skates but Nathan is not one to gloat about his accomplishments.

"He isn't very much of a braggart about all of the things that he's been able to do," Anzelmo said. "He just quietly goes about his business and takes care of things in a really diligent way."