Michelle Kwan gave the Spring 2019 Chubb Fellowship Lecture at Yale University on Wednesday, where she said three-time national champion and two-time world champion Nathan Chen, as well 13-year-old U.S. national champion Alysa Liu, were the future of U.S. skating.
“It’s awesome,” she said as part of the audience question-and-answer session. “It’s an incredible time. I see it develop and I see the things that Nathan is doing, I see Alysa who is this incredible 13-year-old who just won. Our future of U.S. Figure Skating is so bright.”
She didn’t think doing a quadruple Lutz jump was “physically possible” until she saw clips of Chen doing them, she said.
Before Chen went to Japan on his spring break to win his second world title, he was featured in the New York Times. One of the most surprising tidbits from the article was that he often used a motorized skateboard to navigate campus.
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“I sent Nathan a message because he was skateboarding around campus,” Kwan added with a laugh, as Chen was in the audience. “I was like, ‘be careful!’ I was being the mom, or the grandma. ‘Be careful! You’re the future of U.S. Figure Skating!’”
The full talk is available for replay on YouTube.
MORE: Takeaways and top moments from the World Figure Skating Championships
As a reminder, you can watch the events from the 2018-19 figure skating season live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. Go to NBCsports.com/gold/figure-skating to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season. NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.
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