Figure Skater Nathan Chen on Why He Gave His Other Beijing Gold Olympic Medal to His Mom: 'She Loved It' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Olympic figure skaterNathan Chan(finally!) has the second of his twoBeijing 2022gold medals hanging around his neck — but he’s not quite sure yet what he’ll do with it.

Chen, 25, reveals that when he took home his gold for themen’s singles eventin Beijing, he gave it to his mother, Hetty Wang, as a show of gratitude for the support she’s given him along his skating journey.

“We will see!” he tells PEOPLE at the Team USA house on Wednesday, Aug. 7 when asked where his newest medal will live. “I don’t know. I mean, I gave my other medal to my mom, so this will probably have to be for someone else. We’ll see.”

Though Chen says his mother is “not a very touchy feely kind of person,” she did appreciate his gesture, and promised she’d look after his hard-earned prize.

“She loved it. She’s like, ‘Okay, cool. I’ll take good care of it, put it in a box somewhere,’ " he says.

Nathan Chen and his mother Hetty Wang on the Today show in 2022.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

Chen and his teammates Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue finallyreceived their gold medal for their team performancein Beijing on Wednesday in Paris.

(From left:) Brandon Frazier, Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou and Evan Bates show off their gold medals in Paris on Aug. 7.Michael Reaves/Getty

Michael Reaves/Getty

On July 25, the IOC announced that Team USA would finally be receiving their gold medals, two and a half years later.

“This was definitely quite nice to be able to have had that experience with them as well,” he says.

Nathan Chen attends the Gold Gala on May 11.Monica Schipper/Getty

Monica Schipper/Getty

Chen, who recentlygraduated from Yale University, previously shared a sweet moment with Wang on theTodayshow in 2022, in which she surprised him on the show’s set. During the segment, Chenplaced the medal around his mom’s neck, saying it was “largely hers,” as she has supported him “every single step of the way and there’s no way I would ever make it to where I am now without her support.”

Meanwhile, at the Team USA house, Chen says receiving this second 2022 gold medal alongside his teammates was “so special.”

“As athletes, our job is to go perform the best that we possibly can. And in the context of Beijing, we were able to go there, do the very best that we could,” he says. “I’m very proud of my team for the programs they laid down — but of course, the medal is an extra little cherry on top. It’s a tangible form of what we’ve accomplished, and not being able to have that for a while definitely put a damper on the team. . . . That was our main wish here after Beijing, to be able to have an opportunity to share the medal together with the rest of the Olympic athletes.”

source: people.com