Olympian Nathan Chen Says Teamwork Is a 'Core Focus' of His New Memoir

Between his gold medal performance at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and his forthcoming memoir, there has been a lot of cause for reflection for Nathan Chen this year.

The U.S. Olympic figure skater said the writing process for his book One Jump at a Time: My Story was "really fun," if occasionally difficult to tell his story in the span of a couple hundred pages. The book, which he wrote with Alice Park, is slated for release by HarperCollins on November 22.

"It was definitely a really great process, especially looking at the Olympics and then being able to spend some time to look back on that whole experience, look back on my whole career and to see where things were great, where things were not so great," Chen, 23, told Newsweek during an interview this week.

Work on the memoir started after the 2022 Olympics. Through the writing process, Chen said he thought about times over the years when he hadn't wanted to compete and of the teamwork that helped him through. He identified teamwork as his book's "core focus."

"Everything in my life has really revolved around having a really strong team around me, people that have helped me," he said. "I'm definitely not able to do everything by myself, and so being able to have a really strong team to help me in all things that I'm not so good at has helped me get to where I am now."

The two-time Olympian and three-time world champion described his memoir as "a reflection on my time in the sport." Its publication will come nine months after he capped his skate for the gold with a performance choreographed to a medley of Elton John songs.

Thinking back on his most recent Olympics, Chen said he arrived "with the intent of being able to look back on it and remember how great of an experience overall it was," rather than focusing entirely on the competition. "It's more just like the whole experience in itself. And I think that encompasses meeting new people, exploring the venues, exploring the rink, exploring the village, and just really trying to take in the whole experience of what the Olympics entails."

Less than a year later, Chen's life appears to have changed significantly. He spoke with Newsweek while at Yale University, where he returned this fall as a junior to complete his studies after taking two years off to prepare for the Olympics. Chen has continued skating since becoming an Olympic gold medalist, but he told Team USA over the summer that he wants to spend the rest of his time in college exploring other interests. Even with his classes and the curiosity about playing music that he has documented on Instagram, Chen said he returns to the ice rink "whenever I have the opportunity."

"It's definitely not quite as regimented as it used to be, but I still find myself at the rink and really love being on the ice," he said.

Skating and school aside, Chen already has another book in the works that is scheduled for publication in February. This next project will be for children and takes inspiration from Chen's identity as a Chinese American and from his mother.

"Of course, being Chinese American, there's a little bit of a Chinese American dynamic in that, as well as just being able to find your dream, find your purpose and keep striving for whatever it is that you want to do," he said.

The book has "a lot of little themes" from Chen's relationship with his mother, whom he describes as "the biggest part of my skating journey."

"She has really been there since Day One, and has helped me navigate the challenges of trying to pursue a dream and pursue a goal," he said. "That's really very similar to the relationship that the characters in the picture book have, as well."

Chen also drew comparisons between the children's book and a new partnership he was promoting with Invisalign. "It's very similar in concept where, you know, it's trying to find your confidence, trying to find what drives you," he said.

Both of his forthcoming books share a theme of personal growth, which Chen said persists "no matter how good you think you might be."

"I think at the end of the day, every person always has room to grow," he said.

As for figure skating, Chen said he isn't sure what the future has in store for him, but his passion for the sport remains.

"I don't know exactly what skating will entail in the future, but I definitely know that I still love skating, I still love performing," he said. "So any opportunities that might come my way in regards to that, I'll definitely strongly consider and would love to still find myself on the ice."