I have never seen the level of media coverage and attention on Asian American athletes to the extent that it was during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Perhaps it is because these Winter Olympics were in Pyeongchang, or perhaps it was because these athletes were coming into that stage of their lives where all their hard work was starting to pay off. Whatever the reason is, the Asian American Olympians of these 2018 Winter Olympics finally got their moments in the sun they so rightfully deserve.
It is so important to see these Asian Americans on television right now as well, especially in the kind of uncertain political climate we live in. I never aspired to be an Olympian athlete or anywhere close to that because my parents would never have allowed it, but also because there were no Asian American athletes on screen while I was growing up. It never seemed like an avenue that I could pursue. Only in the past few years have Asian Americans become more represented in film and television, and now the latest outlet — sports — they are forging their road to fame.
Watching these Asian American athletes on television, being interviewed and filming backstory clips was heartwarming, touching and unbelievably impactful for young Asian Americans across the nation. Seeing people of your culture, ethnicity and color on the small screen allows the young generation to aspire to be an Olympian athlete one day, and perhaps open up more opportunities to seriously pursue these aspirations.
Now here are some profiles of the Asian American athletes that stole our hearts this year at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Maia and Alex Shibutani
I have always loved watching figure skating in the Winter Olympics, but I have never heard of these siblings before 2018. Maia and Alex were born in New York City and Boston, respectively. It was Maia that really took to skating first at age 4, and she dreamed of becoming the next Michelle Kwan. Alex had started out wanting to become an NBA basketball player, but after seeing the joy skating brought to his sister, he decide to give it a try. As children, Maia had been a better skater than Alex, and in competing with his sister and trying to be a good role model to her, Alex trained hard to improve his skating. They first teamed up as an ice dancing pair in 2004.
Their rise to the top was gradual, but a rise nonetheless. They have earned medals at several World Championships, Four Continents Championships and Grand Prix Finals. Their first Olympics was in 2014 at Sochi, ending in ninth place in ice dancing. After a physical and mental transformation, the siblings earned bronze medals in both of the team figure skating event and in ice dancing. They are the first pair, both of Asian descent, to medal in ice dancing, and the first sibling pair to medal since 1992.
They connect to their fans through their popular YouTube channel, ShibSibs, and have other various social media accounts on Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. What started out as simply documenting their experiences on the ice has expanded to include skits of other figure skaters and challenge videos. Alex is mainly behind the camera and video editing, and it is really Maia’s personality that shines through and makes one feel connected to the Shibutani siblings. At ages 23 and 26, Maia and Alex are still very much in their prime, and I know we can only expect to hear more of them in the coming years.
Nathan Chen
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the youngest of five children, Chen started skating at the ripe age of 3. With a background in ballet and gymnastics, Chen’s artistry component is impressive considering his young age at 18, as well as the athletic feat of mastering quadruple jumps (spinning four and half times in the air during a jump). Chen has a slew of records under his belt, including being the first and only skater able to do five different kinds of quads: toe loop, Salchow, flip, loop and lutz.
Fresh off earning gold medals in 2017 from the Grand Prix Final and the Four Continents Championships, everyone expected a lot from Chen in his first Olympics. Perhaps it was due to these high expectations and nerves from his Olympic debut that caused Chen to fall in both the team event and the short program of the men’s individuals. However, his free program was a completely different story: clear on his face was a carefree abandon and an “all or nothing” kind of mentality, allowing him to land six quads, five cleanly, in his free skate. He is the first skater to attempt and land six squads in Olympic history, and his free program score, at 215.08, is the highest in Olympic history.
Chen’s free skate in the Olympics was a true display of the kind of figure skater he is: artistic, athletic and captivating. He was able to launch himself from thirteenth to fifth place in his Olympic standing, and surely by the next Olympics he will be more prepared to fight for gold.
Mirai Nagasu
Nagasu is the child of two Japanese immigrant restaurant owners, born in Montebello and raised in Arcadia, California. Her first Olympics was in 2010 in Vancouver at the young age of 16, and placed fourth in ladies’ individuals. Medalling in the Four Continents Championships and the U.S. Championships, Nagasu has been around, but is known for her spinning and the power in her jumps.
Going into the Olympics, Nagasu had just added the triple axel jump to her program. In the past, jumping had been reserved for the men due to the difference in physique between genders, and the triple axel is the rarest form done by women. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, she successfully pulled landed the triple axel cleanly during the team figure skating event. This makes her the first American woman to do it at the Olympics, and the third woman in the world to do it during competition.
Chloe Kim
Taking a break from figure skating, Chloe Kim’s Olympic debut has taken us by storm. One of three daughters of South Korean parents, Kim was born in Long Beach and grew up in Torrance, California. Kim started to snowboard at age 4, and from the beginning, everyone knew Kim was going to be a star. Her father quit his job early on to dedicate himself to support Kim’s journey to the Olympics, and at one point drove her up to Mammoth from Southern California, a five-and-a-half-hour drive, every weekend so that she could train with the best. She had qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but then at only 13 years old was not allowed to attend. If she had competed in Sochi, many think that she had a real chance at the gold.
In the meantime between Sochi and Pyeongchang, Kim competed in the Winter X Games each year and won four gold medals. Even before the Olympics, she had multiple sponsors including Nike, Toyota and Target (I find this the most impressive of them all). She is also already a major social media influencer on Instagram and Twitter, her handle for them both @chloekimsnow.
Now in 2018, Kim at age 17 won gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe and the youngest woman ever to win an Olympic snowboarding medal. She is also the first woman to successfully complete 1080-degree spins back to back. Watching her final halfpipe run in the Olympics, she did it with such ease and effortlessness that one cannot help but admire her athletic ability. Her Olympic debut has been sudden, amazing and well-earned. As one commentator nicely put it, “Chloe Kim is the future and it is here, inspiring women all over the world.”
Many of these Asian American athletes made names for themselves in figure skating, a sport primarily dominated by Canada, Russia and Japan; in fact half the U.S. figure skating team was Asian American. Figure skating is one of the most watched sports of the Winter Olympics, and combines athleticism, artistry and spectacle. Asian Americans coming onto the scene of this highly televised and watched sport made this Olympics in Pyeongchang all that much more significant.
There were a total of 14 Asian Americans competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics, including Vincent Zhou, Hailey Langland, Karen Chen, Madison Chock and Thomas Hong. Many of these Asian American athletes come from the same hometowns we come from, and all have incredible journeys to the Olympics. The sacrifices their parents have made for them to compete and be serious contenders for the Olympics allow the Asian American community at home to identify with and relate to them.
This year has been groundbreaking for me as an Asian American to finally see my people on the small screen, winning medals and showing the world who we are and what we can do. Many of these athletes are still young, and I know that I can expect more to come in the next few years.