The beijing winter olympics men's singles skating free final came to an end, the ideal Feather Yu string was born, and the champion was a young Chinese-American player and LEO's Yale apprentice - Chen Wei.
Chen Wei regards Yusheng Yushin as an unparalleled idol, and now he is side by side with the idol, both of whom set records in the figure skating world, bringing shocking visual enjoyment to audiences around the world. Today's article lets us walk into the new Olympic champion Chen Wei.
*Images are from the web
Before winning the championship, perhaps many people did not know much about the name Chen Wei. He is currently the only male player in the world who can do five kinds of four-way jumping. Jumping around is equivalent to a gravitational impact of four times the body weight, and the damage to the ankle is extremely large.
Chen Wei is currently ranked no. 1 in the ISU World Ranking, breaking the world no. 1 in japan's top figure skater Yu yusuke for five consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2018.
NBC Sports in the United States used "Transcendent Greatness" and "Any word cannot exaggerate chen wei's performance" to describe Chen Wei's performance.
Won the 2017, 2018 and 2019 three-time US Championships champion, 2018, 2019, 2021 three world championships champion. Chen Wei has achieved the ultimate in figure skating.
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People often say that "every child who turns out of the world has the hard work of his parents behind him", which can be seen in Chen Wei's growth experience of flowering style, what is the meaning behind "the children from typical Chinese elite families", why are Chinese people so fond of figure skating, and even turn it into a traditional advantage project of Chinese?
Maybe it all starts with the parents behind these children.
Chen Wei's parents immigrated to the United States in the 1980s and can be said to be a successful example among the first generation of immigrants.
His father, who came from the countryside of Laibin, Guangxi, studied at Guangxi Medical University and China Military Medical College, went to the United States in 1988 to study for a doctorate, and obtained a doctorate degree in pharmacy and medicinal chemistry from the University of Utah, and then obtained a green card to become a senior researcher in the field of medicine and founded his own medical technology company and laboratory.
It wasn't an easy journey and they felt seriously misplaced. "Coming to a new country, I have no relatives, no money, no friends, and Chen Wei's mother, Hetty, doesn't speak English."
Although they will not talk too much about the struggles of the year, it must be very difficult to imagine.
Chen Zhidong worked for a long time to pursue a Doctorate at the University of Utah, while Hetty was responsible for caring for their five children. Nathan is the youngest child in the family, he also has 2 older sisters and 2 older brothers.
When 3-year-old Nathan saw his brothers playing hockey and trying to find their place on the ice, mom Hetty encouraged him to try figure skating.
Nathan said, "Many times, when you see a Chinese mother helping their children, the direct association is 'tiger mother', but as a young child, you also need to find happiness and love in what you do." I'm really glad my mom never forced me, on the contrary. My mom has been encouraging me since day one. ”
Nathan started skating at the age of 3, won the title at the age of 10, and at the age of 11, his mother drove from Lake Salt City to California with nathan, under the guidance of coach Rafael Arutyunyan.
Coach Areyunyan remembers that when Nathan and his mother came looking for him, there was nothing but the boy's dream. "The hotel is expensive, they can only sleep in the car, and when they come to the training ground, [his] mother gives me money with this hand, and I will give it back to her."
Nathan also admitted: "We didn't have much money, and Mom had to piece it all together and try to pay for Areyunyan's coaching fees. "And the coach obviously knows about this situation in our family. He said, 'Well, I don't really need that [money].' I just want to help you achieve what you want. ’”
At the age of 12, Nathan made a big decision to stay in California and train with Arutyunyan.
The coach said, "Nathan drove to me from Salt Lake City. Three times a year, and then one day, he said, 'Mom, if we don't move to California, I won't be alive.'" ”
Nathan was too young to travel alone, and his mom, Hetty, moved with him. Meanwhile, Nathan's father remained in Utah to take care of Nathan's older siblings.
Nathan has since become a skater.
4 years ago, 18-year-old Nathan was a rising star, everyone was optimistic that he would become the next great Olympian, and sponsors admired him very much. His picture appeared on a cornflake box, or in a billboard in Times Square. The U.S. team and the world are looking forward to him winning an Olympic gold medal. The problem is that these expectations quickly begin to feel like demands, as if the goal of participating in the Olympics is to win a gold medal.
Invisible pressure made him play out of order, he made one mistake after another in the team and men's singles events, and finally missed the gold medal, and that night, he called his sister Alice for support.
Alice Chen said that her parents came to the United States from China early on, brought big siblings, and paid for Nathan's tuition was not easy. Sometimes it's too expensive to fly. Their mother would drive him 10 or 12 hours to race because they couldn't afford to pay for the hotel, and sometimes they slept in the car. Those experiences helped shape Nathan, she said, but the family never made him feel like he owed them anything.
She said they just wanted to see him happy, and at the 2018 Olympics, he didn't.
Nathan realizes that he is miserable when his obsession with winning actually leads to defeat. Thinking back to the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, he felt "nervous all the time" and worried that he wouldn't meet expectations. But this year, at the age of 22, he changed his mindset. This time he was trying to enjoy the process – win or lose.
Nathan recalls a quote from 2010 Olympic champion Lysacek that inspired him.
"Lysacek says, win or lose, you have to go home, you have to get on with your life," Nathan agreed, "to be honest, it's reassuring because I think a lot of times you're going to dramatize things like, 'Oh, if things don't go well, it's the end of the world,' but actually, it's not like that, the world keeps spinning and things are going to get back to normal." "
At the age of 22, Nathan is not only good at figure skating, but also knows photography, can dance ballet, can play guitar and piano, and has another label on him, Yale Schoolmaster.
At the age of 18, he was accepted with a perfect sat math score and became a Yale major in statistics and data science. Nathan confessed that it allowed him to find a world outside of skating.
Like the average student, Nathan rides an electric skateboard around campus, potentially sacrificing safety for sleep. "I can get up at 9:15 and get to class at 9:30."
Here, he met other Yale athletes, made friends on the ice hockey team, learned how to learn and keep up with the students, who he said, "are all masters in their respective fields."
Sports are not all, when it is full-time, it can only be a youth meal, and one day it will be retired or in the background. From an early age, they learned musical instruments, ballet, equestrianism, golf, these hobbies are not just play, they have also made achievements in fields other than sports.
Back in Yale's classroom, Chen Wei is still a student who focuses on his professional field. After being accepted to Yale's Statistics Department, he considered following in his father's footsteps in future arrangements, with a minor in bioengineering or pre-med.
As one of the most famous universities in the world, Yale University naturally has a lot of academic burdens, but this will not overwhelm Chen Wei. "People here are doing a lot of crazy things, but when they come back, they're all ordinary people." Chen Wei said in an interview.
Nathan admits that college life has expanded his social circle. When he returned to campus after winning the national competition, his roommates greeted him with a box of donuts as a sign of celebration.
He cherishes the friends he makes, the opportunity to have in-depth conversations with his high-achieving classmates, and the opportunity to interact with classmates who have long challenged him. Nathan enjoys feeling a cooperative team atmosphere in study groups, as this is difficult to cultivate in a sport as personal and closed as skating.
Therefore, after participating in the 2022 Olympic Games, Nathan is expected to suspend figure skating for a year to complete his studies.
Nathan's parents taught their son not to give up his regular academic education because of figure skating. "An athlete's career is only a short period of time, but education can be carried out for a lifetime."
Chen Wei also said, "Let the people win peace of mind, let them know that I can balance academics and skating." ”
He plans to re-measure what the ultimate goal is after Yale completes another full year of schoolwork, and may have to lower the priorities of his studies for a while in preparation for the Olympics.
How inspiring! So, who says that ordinary families can't raise extraordinary children?