Gold Medalist Nathan Chen Finishing School at Yale Then 'Will See Where He's At' for 2026 Olympics

Gold-medalist Nathan Chen is laser-focused on finishing his degree at Yale University, then will see where he is at for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, he tells PEOPLE.

The American men's figure skating champ just released his memoir, One Jump at a Time: My Story, which he began working on after his big win in February, "hashing out the details of what we wanted to incorporate and also just, you know, trying to put the framework of the book together."

"It was challenging, but honestly a really good reflective time," Chen, 23, says of enjoying the process, "it was interesting to look back on my whole career — my whole life even."

While looking back on his accomplishments and challenges has been eye-opening and rewarding for the athlete, the Salt Lake City native admits that he is currently purely focusing on his studies at Yale.

"I still have a year and a half," the statistics and data science major notes, "well, after finals," he says, which he is currently gearing up for.

"I mean, it's so early to say," Chen responds in regard to the creative process and planning for a potential 2026 Olympics return. "Usually that process happens at the beginning of the season, so you wouldn't really think about it until quite later on."

There's so many steps to prepping for a Games, from determining the tricks and routine all the way down to picking the music. "You want sound, you wanna be originally yourself, but at the same time you have to kind of know what other skaters skate to, so it's not all the same," the three-time World Champion explains.

For the 2022 Olympics free skate, Chen chose a medley of Elton John's music from Rocketman for his gold medal-winning performance. Not only did the legendary artist congratulate Chen via Twitter after winning the gold, he just featured Chen as the sole star of his new music video, an acoustic re-release of his "Hold Me Closer" collaboration with Britney Spears.

"It's just crazy," Chen says. "It's just, it's out this world. I never could've imagined it — I don't know, I'm just really lucky.

Still, despite his now-mainstream fame, the "Quad King" reiterates that he had always had planned to spend these two years focused on finishing school, regardless of a win at the 2022 Olympics (and working with superstars). "I try not to think too much about the future, and that's honestly the kind of the way that I'm going about it."

"And you know, I guess after two years I'll, you know, work things out and see where I'm at," he adds.

As far as how his peers handle his Olympian status, Chen says that there are so many incredible people at Yale "doing something really cool in their life," that he is fortunately able to "blend in as a student."

Chen's day-to-day activities on top of his studies are like any student's — hanging with friends and grabbing a bite to eat, along with playing extracurricular sports such as flag football and basketball (though he says he's "mostly just good at skating.")

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"This semester has been really fun. I'm in a suite with a bunch of other guys that are just a lot of fun to be around, all very different people with different interests," he shares.

Expressing that "none of this would be possible" without his mother, he says he does not take his family's support for granted. "My mom has been there since day one and has helped me so much — sacrificed so much," he says. "She has given me every opportunity possible."