Figure skater Nathan Chen receives gold medal from 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

PARIS — Salt Lake City figure skater Nathan Chen received a gold medal Wednesday at the Summer Olympics in Paris. 

A lot of people are asking why the U.S. figure skating team got a medal during the Summer Games. It sounds confusing, doesn’t it?

Well, it has to do with the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and a doping scandal involving a Russian figure skater.

Chen was on that U.S. team that came in second place in the team skating event in China.

However, because one of the Russian figure skaters was accused of doping, it went through court cases and appeals. Eventually, the United States was awarded the gold medal.

It has been two-and-a-half years since the event, but the skaters in Paris got their gold medals on Wednesday.

“I mean, it means a lot to me,” Chen said. “It means a lot to the team. We also didn’t have her family in Beijing. So to be able to have her family here as well is huge, we put in a lot of work.”

Chen has plenty of praise for his teammates.

“We’re a very dedicated team, you know, held (them) very well over the past couple years,” he said. “And I’m really proud of the really proud of all the people on this team. So, yeah, we’re really excited to finally have our moment.”

Doping in sports

KSL TV asked Chen about how he feels about doping in sports and how important it is to keep an even playing field?

“I mean, the basis of sport is to have, you know, clean play and and a fair playing field,” he said. “And so I think that being able to have the trust that every athlete that we’re competing against is clean is really important, integral to the sport. So, you know these as as we progress forward, you know, all the information will continue to be helpful to the athletes. But, yeah, as it stands, it’s really important to be able to have clean sport.”

Chen was also part of the Utah committee that secured the right to host the 2034 Winter Olympics.

He said he is happy to see the Games coming back to his home state. He said he still has pictures of him as a little boy attending some of the events in 2002.

“I know how much it impacts the the future of this of all sports,” he said. “And the Olympics really just generates this, like, level of intensity and passion for, for athletics and, and I was definitely a result of that. So I’m really excited to be able to see how that translates to the future.”

What the future holds?

So, what are his plans for 2026?

Chen said he hasn’t made a decision yet. He just graduated from college, and plans to keep his options open.

He said will make a decision soon, however.