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Informationen zum Autor Joseph Liu; Illustrated by Gregory Copeland Klappentext "In 2022, Nathan Chen dazzled the world when he won the gold medal in men's figure skating to Elton John's 'Rocket Man' at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Though this was his first Olympic gold, Nathan was not new to big victories. He was already a six-time US national champion and had already won the World Figure Skating Championship three times! Nicknamed the 'Quad King,' Nathan is known for his thrilling quadruple jumps on the ice and is considered one of the greatest male figure skaters of all time. Learn all about Nathan's life from his childhood hobbies of ballet and gymnastics to his recent graduation from Yale University in this inspiring book for young readers!" Leseprobe Who Is Nathan Chen? During the 2022 Winter Olympics, Nathan Chen stood alone in the middle of the ice rink in Beijing (say: BAY-jing), China. His legs were spread apart and his arms were relaxed at his side. He was dressed in black pants and a red shirt covered in stars. The stars were not like those you see on a flag. These were more like stars you see in space. They shone brightly on his red shirt, just like he did against the white ice. Softly, music started playing in the Capital Indoor Stadium. Nathan closed his eyes, raised his right hand, and spun. He glided across the ice, skating and dancing along with the music. The song was “Rocket Man” by Elton John. It is about an astronaut that is leaving Earth. Nathan’s star-covered shirt matched the song perfectly. Suddenly, he leaped into the air. With his arms crossed tightly against his chest, he spun. He went around one, two, three, four times. The music spiked and crashed right as he landed back on the ice. His skates barely touched the ground before he was in the air again. This time he spun two times and landed safely on his feet. The crowd cheered as the music picked up speed, and Nathan danced and glided around on the ice. These jumps with four spins are called quadruple jumps, also known as quads. Nathan performed four more quads before his routine was over. He is the first person ever to do five different quads in a single performance! These spinning jumps are the reason why he is known as the “Quad King.” After four and a half minutes of incredible skating, Nathan’s routine finished. The crowd was on its feet, and Nathan knew he’d done an amazing job. Sitting in the booth, Nathan waited for the judges to report his scores. The seconds ticked by while everyone waited in silence. After what seemed like a lifetime, his scores appeared. The crowd roared and Nathan clasped his hands to his head. He had won the gold medal. He was now an Olympic champion. Even though he was wearing a mask because of the coronavirus pandemic, everyone could see he was smiling.. Chapter 1: Born into a Family of Skaters On May 5, 1999, Zhidong Chen and his wife Hetty Wang welcomed a newborn son they named Nathan. They had left China and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, with their four other children, two boys and two girls. All four of those children were skaters, and baby Nathan would be, too. Nathan’s older brothers are named Tony and Colin. He grew up watching them play ice hockey. Each weekend Nathan would watch his brothers score goals and battle for the puck. His older sisters are named Alice and Janice. They also skated. They didn’t play hockey though; they figure-skated. Figure skating is dancing on ice, where skaters spin and jump to music. In competitions, they are scored based on how well they perform their routines. When Nathan was just three years old, Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics. At this very young age, Nathan had the wonderful opportunity to see world famous athletes, like Michelle Kwan, compete in his hometown.
