Chen Karen - Finding the edge: my life on the ice

IT WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN I FIRST HEARD about a promising young skater from my hometown in California. Karen Chen had just won the Intermediate Ladies title at the US Figure Skating Championships, and there was a lot of talk about how good she was. People kept asking if Id seen her yet, so naturally I was curious and wanted to watch her skate. As an Asian American skater from Fremont myself, I felt a connection with Karen before even meeting her.

We had our first meeting at the Fremont ice rink when I sat in on one of Karens lessons. She was only eleven at the time, and I wasnt sure if she even knew who I was. But, boy, was I thrilled to meet herand boy, was I dazzled from the very beginning. I remember watching Karen work on her double axel; she was pushing to get more speed and flow while skating into the jump and through the landing. She executed some beautiful double axels, and I was impressed that she had such incredible power for such a petite girl, not to mention the speed and height of her jumps. Yes, she had a few bobbles, too, but she took in all of her coachs instructions and tried to apply them for next time. Some attempts were better and some were not, but no matter what, Karen exuded a determination to improve. Everything about Karen made me smile. There are many gifted skaters in this sport, but you dont always feel something from them. You dont always understand their way of doing things the way I did with Karen.

As I left the rink and thought about this tiny young skater, I couldnt help but make comparisons. I saw a great deal of my young self in Karen: her shyness, her ability to take instruction and apply it, her determination to get better, her desire and willingness to work hard, and of course her competitiveness. I was a fan of Karens from that day on. She had a special something that I could feela spark that shone when she skated.

Karen has grown as a skater and young lady over the last few years, and there have already been many highlights to her promising career. She holds a US Championship title at the Novice Ladies level (and it was a special one in front of a local crowd at the 2012 San Jose US Championships!). She skated at a high competitive level in the junior category before debuting at the senior level in 2015 with a giant splash and an incredible third-place finish. This impressive debut turned the eyes of the figure-skating world on her. Two years later, Karen stormed into the 2017 US Championships with confidence and determination. She skated nearly flawless routines in both her short and long programs, thereby becoming the newly crowned US Ladies champion!

It all sounds so magical, right?

Well, with the highs come the lows. We all have challenges in life, and Karen is no exception. She makes the ongoing grueling commute back and forth from Northern California, where her family is based, to Southern California, where her current coach is. She is also being homeschooled while her training regimen ramps up for the 2018 Olympic year. And even during the early stages of her competitive career, there were hurdles. When Karen was competing as a junior skater, she suffered a terrible injury. But did breaking her ankle keep her down? No. She came back the following year as a senior competitor, and thats when she earned the bronze medal. A struggle with skating boot issues also kept Karen out of contention for the US Championships in 2016. But she persevered and got herself back on track for the following season. And that determination was rewarded a hundred times over when she became the United States Ladies champion in 2017. Karen has pushed through and overcome many obstacles, and she has made many sacrifices to achieve her accomplishments.

Looking at what Karen has endured and how she continues to pursue her dream, I feel such admiration and pride. Although she is still chasing her ultimate dream of representing her country at the Olympic Games, she is already an exemplary athlete and a young woman with a strong work ethic, dedication, tenacity, and yes, some of that kick-butt attitude any fierce competitor needs.

Karen Chen will be a name in the books of figure-skating history, for sureand in the meantime, she is an inspiring role model for anyone chasing a dream. I hope my own two daughters read this book and learn what its like to be passionate about something and what it takesboth the victories and the defeatsto have success. Thank you, Karen, for sharing your story with us.

KRISTI YAMAGUCHI

Olympic champion, two-time World champion, and US champion

US Figure Skating Championships

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Kansas City, Missouri

Short Program

I DONT WANT TO BE AFRAID. I WANT TO BE A BIRD.

A bird doesnt think about falling; a bird doesnt know what it means to cry. Birds simply lift their wings and glide, like the whole world is theirs. I want to be that kind of bird. I want to fly.

Ice skating is the closest I get to flyingits the only time I feel weightless and free. Skating is the most natural thing in the world, my blades carrying me as they cut edges into the ice, as I push and pull myself around the rink and then up through the air. The ice is my second home. On the ice, I am neither shy nor soft-spoken; its the place where I feel completely comfortable. Thats how I want to skate in my short program tonight: comfortable, joyful, happy. And when Im out there alone under the spotlight, I want everyone watching me to feel those same emotions.

My coach tells me Im fierce. She says theres fearlessness in my eyes, and toughness, too, when Im focusing on what I want. For me, life has been this scary roller coaster: sometimes Im at the bottom, not sure what Im truly looking for, and sometimes Im at the top, eyes locked on my goal. After all these years, pushing and pushing and pushingone more, Karen, just do one moreits finally time to let go. The negative momentum that drives you to the bottom of the roller coaster can start to work for you, if you let it. Hit the bottom and rise. A champion doesnt worry about what others say or all the things that might go wrong. A champion is calm, ready, steady.

The song Im skating to tonight, On Golden Pond, is delicate and light, reminding me of the bird I want to be. I can understand this music. I can feel it. And Ill bring that emotion with me onto the ice. Ill use my body and my movements like instruments to express emotions I cant put into words.

Before the first piano notes begin, the birdsI think theyre loonsstart calling to one another. What are they saying? What do they want us to know? It could be daybreak, a new beginning, hope. Whatever youre looking for, now is the time to find it. Now is the time for me to find what Ive been looking for since I was five years old, since I put on my first pair of skating boots and tried to fly.

The loons calls give way to piano chords, and my moment has arrived.

I am here in Kansas City, under these lights, in front of my family, surrounded by hundreds of people, in the center of this rink. I am competing at the US Figure Skating Championships.