Nathan Chen: Full-time figure skater, part-time football player?
Ahead of his first routine at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday, everyone wondered: who brought the pigskin? The American told us after his skate.
Figure Skating
Nathan Chen is one of the figure skaters to beat at Beijing 2022.
The Salt Lake City-born Chen was on the ice with skates on strapped to his feet by the age of three.
And he's never looked back.
Since the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics Chen has been at the top of his discipline. The three-time world champion (2018, 2019, 2021) is also the first skater in history to pull off six quadruple jumps in a free skating single routine in international competition.
His incredible athletic ability and love for sport is well documented, but moments before his superb short program performance in the figure skating team event on Friday (4 February), cameras caught Chen unexpectedly tossing and throwing around an American football during his warm-up, and demonstrating impressive arm strength to boot.
Chen spoke to Olympics.com about the unusual warm-up after finishing his routine, saying "As soon as I brought that out, [Canada's] Roman Sadovsky was like, 'Oh man, that's the most American thing I've seen.' [Laughs.] But no, it's been fun to have that.
"My trainer is a big sports guy himself. It's nice to be able to have someone to throw the football around with. I got a game ball for Christmas, so I started throwing it around a lot more."
Super Bowl fever?
Super Bowl LVI is just ten days away, so perhaps Chen is getting in the mood for the big showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and his hometown Los Angeles Rams.
And like the Bengals and Rams, who both overcame teams they weren't expected to beat on their way to the NFL's championship game, Chen is looking to do the same against Japan's Hanyu Yuzuru in the men's single skating event later in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
The football crossovers and references didn't end there, either. During NBC's broadcast of the event in the U.S., commentator and former figure skater Johnny Weir referred to Chen as the Tom Brady of figure skating. Unlike Brady, Chen isn't ready to retire just yet.
MORE: How to watch figure skating at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022
'You should have enjoyed them more'
Chen was just 18 at PyeongChang 2018 when, with a lot of expectation and pressure on his shoulders, he finished in fifth place in men's single skating.
Speaking to Olympics.com recently, Chen shared how he was trying to take a more relaxed approach to Beijing.
"I did bring my electric guitar, yeah, though not my acoustic. I'm hoping to [play] soon," he said. "[U.S. ice dancer] Evan Bates is a really amazing guitar player, so I'm sure he'll teach me something."
"It's nice to have something to keep me pre-occupied."
By little indicators like tossing around the pigskin before such an impressive first routine in front of the watching world, it's clear that the 22-year-old is enjoying every moment.
Where to watch Nathan Chen compete at Beijing 2022
From the Opening Ceremony to athlete action, here's where and how you can watch the Winter Games in your region via the Official Olympic Broadcast Partners.