Olympic figure skater Nathan Chen skipping 2026 Games for medical school

Legendary United States figure skater Nathan Chen will not be competing in the 2026 Olympics.

The two-time gold medalist will instead attend medical school during the time of the next Olympics, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“I just want to open doors to kind of see what’s the best sort of approach for me,” Chen told the outlet, “and frankly, at this point in time in my life, I’ve already accomplished enough in skating that I’m quite satisfied with my career.”

The figure skater from Salt Lake City has already been doing work in the classroom during his competing days.

Chen holds a degree in statistics and data science from Yale.

Now with his new path and medical school, Chen told the Times that he’d be interested in studying cardiology or oncology, specifically their relation to genetics.

Chen has not ruled out competing in figure skating in the future.

But even if he doesn’t skate again, he has plenty of accolades to show.

Chen is a three-time world champion figure skater who has been to two Olympics.

In 2022, he brought home two gold medals.

His most significant achievement was winning the individual short program with a score of 113.97.

During that year at the Olympics, Chen landed two quadruple jumps, and he didn’t miss a single move in the individual program.

Other than the two gold medals he won, that score of 113.97 is now a world record in the short program.

Still, Team USA will be skating in 2026 at the Milano Olympics, with competition starting in February.