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Chen, who last year became the youngest world
champion since Russian Yevgeni Plushenko in 2001, had his
preparation for a follow up derailed a bit by a cold that kept
him near his college at Yale University.
But that setback will not keep him from showing up in Japan as a
favorite when this year's world championships begin on Monday.
"I got a little bit sick so I decided to recover (in New Haven)
and make sure I didn’t get any of the other athletes sick," Chen
told reporters during a teleconference on Friday.
"The entire college got sick, so it was inevitable. I’ve been
training well for worlds. I’m looking forward to competition."
Chen showed strong form at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships
where he took a third consecutive gold in January.
He said that his performances have been continually building,
which is a strong sign for the rest of the season.
"That’s always my goal every season. I want to be able to
improve in some degree from competition to competition," Chen
said.
"It’s more evident in the short program from where I started out
(to now), each one has progressively gotten better. I hope that
continues in the worlds and further on in the season." Chen has
managed to balance his skating with his studies thus far, but
said a return to Yale next fall is not guaranteed.
"My skating at this point is such a team effort. I really have
to take into account everyone else’s thoughts and opinions,"
Chen said.
"I have to make sure everyone else is on board with what I’m
deciding. I haven’t made any decisions yet. Right now my focus
is on the worlds and nothing else."
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Amlan
Chakraborty)
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