Here’s why Nathan Chen won’t be at the 2026 Winter Olympics

WASHINGTON — Olympic gold medalist Nathan Chen won’t return to the ice skating rink for the Winter Olympics in 2026.

The decorated figure skater has previously confirmed he will not defend his title in the upcoming Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Chen, 26, told the Los Angeles Times in August 2025 that he won’t be at the upcoming Games as he will embark on a new career in medicine.

“I just want to open doors to kind of see what’s the best sort of approach for me,” Chen told The Times. “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 was one of the breakout stars of the 2022 Winter Olympics, landing five clean quadruple jumps to win gold in the men’s singles figure skating event. His run at the Beijing Games set records as he became the first singles skater in Olympic history to win two gold medals in the same Games after helping the US win in the team competition.

Since that run, Chen has graduated from Yale and began applying to medical schools around the country.

The Olympic figure skater said he’ll attend “whichever medical school wants him” and that taking the medical college admissions test was more nerve-racking than competing at the Winter Games.

As for his focus? He said he is interested in cardiology or oncology and their relationship to genetics.

“The basis of being a doctor, I think, is to help people,” Chen said. “I think that’s something that I didn’t necessarily feel like an athlete, that I felt was a little bit lacking, and I get a little bit of that sense doing YTS.”