Helene Elliott: Nathan Chen’s sense of purpose, and great skating, made him destined for gold

BEIJING — Nathan Chen’s figure skating talent was apparent at a precocious age, surfacing quickly after he followed his hockey-playing older brothers out to the ice and realized he enjoyed the tickling breeze on his face and the problem-solving satisfaction of conquering a tricky jump or intricate spin. His resolve was obvious at an early age, too, never wavering despite his occasional bruised knee or bruised ego.

That unshakable sense of purpose was a key reason he commanded the ice this week and became an Olympic champion, the seventh American man to win an Olympic singles figure skating gold medal. It was the eighth gold medal won by American male singles skaters, including those that Dick Button won in 1948 and 1952. In addition, seven American women have won Olympic singles gold medals.

Clearly, Chen is in rare and exalted company.

“I actually didn’t know it was that few. That’s amazing,” he said on Thursday, after he landed