Karen Chen remembers the moment she first met Kristi Yamaguchi.
Both from Fremont, California, a young, shy Chen – just nine or 10 at the time – couldn't muster the courage to ask the 1992 Olympic Champion for her autograph. Her mom had to ask for her.
Standing behind her mom, she peeked around and watched Yamaguchi pull out a Sharpie to sign her skate.
"I wanted her to autograph my right skate because it was my landing side and in my nine- or 10-year-old brain I was like, 'Oh it's going to make me lucky! It's going to make sure I land all of my jumps now,'" Chen reminisced.
For the next several years until she was a teenager, Chen continued to have Yamaguchi sign her right skate for luck.
She believed it was lucky of course because she looked up to Yamaguchi, who as the 1992 Olympic Champion had become one of the sport's biggest icons in the United States.
Along with Michelle Kwan, a two-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, Chen had several role models who were of Asian American heritage. Seeing people that looked like her made her feel she could do it too.
"It's super important to have somebody who's also Asian American and achieved so many wonderful accomplishments, in the skating world and not in the skating world," Chen said. "I always found it super, super inspiring, and motivating too. I saw Kristi Yamaguchi achieve these things and I saw Michelle Kwan achieve these things and I remember also watching Mirai Nagasu back in the Olympics in Vancouver. I see them chase their dreams and be so passionate and resilient, and it inspires me to do the exact same."
Growing up, Chen and her brother, both involved in the sport, watched skating videos with Chen always coming back to Kwan.
"We would always argue over who got to watch who," Chen said with a laugh. "I wanted to watch Michelle Kwan and he wanted to watch Evgeni Plushenko."
Kwan not only inspired Chen and her skating dreams, but rubbed off on the young skater in a way visible in her current performances. The signature spiral in Kwan's performances has also become an iconic element for Chen and she makes sure it's included in all her programs, whether for competition or for a show.
"That's something that Michelle Kwan does so, so, so well. I think, perhaps, it was just growing up and watching her do that spiral and over the years – I don't even know how it became my signature, but it's something that I must put in every single program. And it can't just be thrown in there. It has to be a highlight. It has to hit a crescendo in the music."
As Chen's career continued to progress, so did her relationship with Yamaguchi, who became a mentor for Chen.
"I was just very lucky to have known her and her being super generous and supportive ever since I met her," Chen said.
In 2017, Chen faced a momentous milestone in her career, qualifying for her first World Team. Coming off a win at the U.S. Championships, Chen felt the pressure of placing well to qualify three positions for the 2018 Olympic Games.
It was before she left for Finland that Yamaguchi came through with advice she didn't expect.
"I remember I met with her at a local coffee shop, and we chatted and she talked about her competition experiences and everything," Chen said. "But what really stood out to me back then was when she told me, 'You've trained so hard for everything. Once you're there, skate dumb. Don't be thinking about anything. Just let your body do its thing.'"
An overanalyzer and perfectionist, Chen initially saw the advice as against her nature, but says the advice clicked and helped her enjoy more while competing.
Chen went on to not only help Team USA earn three spots, but had an incredible Worlds debut, finishing just off the podium with fourth place.
Then, leading up to the 2022 U.S. Championships, Yamaguchi came through again. Once again feeling pressure but also feeling she had a good shot at making the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team if she skated well, Chen reached out to the person who both knew what she was going through and she could fully trust.
Yamaguchi's response? That she was just about to text Chen.
"We chatted for a bit and she just helped give me perspective on my career and skating in general," said Chen, who knows even when her career is over that she will still have a special relationship with Yamaguchi. "I always found getting that perspective makes me feel calmer when it comes to competitions. Often times when I'm competing, you get so immersed into the competition and the stress and the nerves, you lose perspective of what is happening, so she's been really great about that and being in my corner, which I'm super grateful for."
Now, years after first meeting Yamaguchi and watching videos of Kwan, Chen isn't just watching her role models thinking she could find success like them.
She's being told she can do it too.
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