Growing up, whenever the Winter Olympics came on, I always rushed home to watch figure skating. The skaters’ grace, poise, and fluidity across the ice amazed and inspired me. Although I was never quite talented enough to compete, I still continue to watch and enjoy the brilliance that is figure skating. Even more so, I have become captivated by certain figure skaters, who I feel are particularly monumental in figure skating. These three figure skaters I am going to introduce are the epitome of professional figure skating and are the top three skaters you need to keep up with — on and off the ice.
Nathan Chen:
Talk of Nathan Chen has been frequent in the figure skating world and for good reason. It was only this week that he won an Olympic Gold medal in Men’s Figure Skating. Because of this win, he has become the first American figure skating champion since 2010. Although his outfits at times can be questionable, his raw talent and hard work make up for it. At only 22 years old, who knows what Chen will accomplish next. Between his figure skating dreams and his scholarly aspirations at Yale, it will be interesting to see what path Chen decides to follow. Whatever he decides, Nathan Chen is definitely someone you should keep an eye out for in future figure skating competitions and on social media.
Alysa liu:
Alysa Liu is one of the youngest and most talented figure skaters of this generation. Not only did she win her first title at age 13, but she is also currently the youngest US women’s national championship. This year she will be competing at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing for Team USA, at 16 years old. Liu is a particularly big inspiration especially since she is so young. I have no doubt that she will continue to perform well and even break some records throughout her future in figure skating. Not only this, but her outfits are so fun to look at — who doesn’t love a sparkly-blue ensemble? Make sure to stay up to date on everything Alysa Liu; you never know when her next groundbreaking performance will be.
Yuzuru Hanyu:
I saved Yuzuru Hanyu for last because he is by far my favorite figure skater to watch. One of my favorite things about him is the outfits he performs in. A lot of the time in figure skating, the men tend to shy away from the more dazzling or sparkly outfits, but Yuzuru never does. In every performance, his outfit always amazes and keeps you wondering what he will wear next. Besides clothes, he is also an accredited and awarded figure skater. Although he came in fourth for this Winter Olympics, he is constantly trying to go above and beyond his previous performances. His most recent goal is to be the first figure skater to land a quadruple axel in competition. It is clear that Yuzuru Hanyu is a force to be reckoned with and we can only hope that he will continue to grace our screens with his refined figure skating.
While I only mentioned these three figure skaters, there are so many others out there who are incredibly talented and worthy of praise. I suggest that everyone go watch (or re-watch) the 2022 Winter Olympics and see if you can spot some of these figure skaters. Who knows, you could find other figure skaters you really enjoy or even fall in love with the beauty and grace of everything that is figure skating!