Surely Nathan Chen's current short program was carved for him. Chen himself underlined the depth of the song Shae-Lynn Bourne suggested to him, Charles Aznavour's "La Bohème".
"It's very different from my last two short programs," Chen explained after his winning short program in Grenoble, at the Internationaux de France. "It's a very touching piece, with a lot of depth to it. We thought it was a good platform or vehicle for my skate,"
Just as surely, however, the lyrics of that song don't match his Chen's way of life. Watching Chen training, practicing and competing, no one would dare say that he embodies Aznavour's Bohemian lifestyle. "La Bohème", Aznavour sings, "means that we were 20 (For that part, Chen is close!), and we were living from the mood of the day (Who would believe this, as Chen is such a rigorous planner), we were young and we were just crazy" (Chen is so organized in whatever he does, from skating to studying and back).
Just the opposite, in fact: each time he steps on competitive ice, Chen seems to be on top of things right away. At least it has been so for the last one and a half seasons.
That was again the case for his second Grand Prix of the season in Grenoble. Chen appeared as if nothing and no one could contend him. High-level competition is also a mental one: at the game of self-confidence, Chen has become a master.
"If you want to have confidence in yourself, you need to know that you're capable of achieving the goal you've set for yourself at a given competition," Chen explained. "That inherently builds your internal confidence, which then translates into external confidence, and that becomes pretty visible.
"I'm not always confident, but I'm happy as long as I can express it," Chen admitted. The two-time World champion has taken the time to build a strong self-confidence. "It's difficult. I suppose it's mainly the experience. Experience of failure and experience of success."
Chen experienced both. His disappointment after attempting a historical six-quad free program and failing at his World gold shot in Helsinki in 2017, then redeeming himself with his six-quad repeat (yet much better controlled) in the 2018 Olympic free skate, where he broke the Olympic record. "I learned so much more from making those mistakes in both short programs (at the Team Event and in the singles event at the Olympics), than if I would have skated better," Chen had said at the time. "Having that experience will propel me in the future better than if I had done the short program better," he had predicted then.
"You may win or you may fail, but you continue going. It's not the end of the world. It may be failure or it may be success, it's never the end of the athlete or the person. We can all be mentally tougher, for competition and for life. My psychological expertise, if I have any (he laughs) comes from experience and the persons around me, my parents, my friends, the support I get."
Of course, experience has been highly successful these last two seasons for Chen, who has flown from one victory to the next after the Olympic short program. His winning streak continued in France. "Landing four quads helps me get more confident," he admitted after his free program.
Another important weapon Chen has developed is his amazing capacity to focus. "I block everything out at a time, and focus solely on the jump, spin or step I need to do," he offered at the end of his short program in Grenoble. "Focus is difficult," he said. "Each time, focusing will be different. I won't focus on the same thing, according to circumstances. It may be enjoying the skate. It may be logistical – focus on this element. It may be blank, and let my body do what it knows to do, and I know I can rely on it. It depends on so many different parameters. In Grenoble, for instance, I tried to be happy. Kevin (Aymoz, the French competitor) had just skated, and I felt that the audience was very reactive. That gave me some energy.
"Enjoying the experience of the journey is the biggest in terms of confidence. Focus, happiness, enjoyment, good practice: all this is of the same nature and contributes to confidence."
One might think that high-rise studies can help Chen develop this focus and self-confidence. Being a sophomore at Yale University, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, could be an external source to nurture one's confidence. Similarly, having to read and assimilate new material fast, to think deep and to play mentally with various concepts at school might increase his focusing capacity.
Chen prefers to maintain the two worlds of his life – school and skate – differently. "It's hard to correlate those two avenues in my life," he acknowledged. "I figured out it was a great thing to have them separated in two different identities, rather than to integrate them. Anyway, taking tests is so different from competing."
There is also another strong ingredient for self-confidence for any athlete: the support you get from your coaching team. Chen's team is working some thousands of miles from where he studies and trains, and that's a lot. His coach, Rafael Arutunian, may have an explanation to his protégé's success, training far away from him. "I haven't trained Nathan," Arutunian explained. "I taught him a way to train. Basically, that's what I do with all my pupils: teach them a way to train. I teach them to be independent."
Still, "It's tough not to have Raf with me," Chen acknowledged. "Raf is a huge part of my skating. As far as my programs go, I'd definitely like to keep improving with him. I'm in a lack of Raf now. I thought I could do with all the material he gave me in the last six years, and I thought I could keep working this way. But he has more at bank!"
This feeling may encourage him to think of a different setting. "It will be nice to have some time to focus on skating again, preparing the Olympics, and then to focus on school again. It's still to be defined, as I will need permission for my school. We'll see how things go," he offered, confidently.
With his win in Grenoble, Chen has qualified for his fourth consecutive Grand Prix Final. Last season, he became the first U.S. man to win back-to-back Grand Prix Final titles and looks to make it three this December in Torino, Italy. Don't miss a second of his historic season! Watch all Grand Prix competitions live and on-demand on the
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