Skip to content

Top Navigation

InStyle InStyle
  • News
    • All Fashion
    • Clothing
    • Accessories
    • Street Style
    • Look of the Day
    • Fashion Week
    • Future Of Fashion
    • All Celebrity
    • Awards and Events
    • Celebrity Transformations
    • All Beauty
    • Makeup
    • Best Beauty Buys
    • Health & Fitness
    • Skincare
    • All Hair
    • Celeb Hairstyles
    • Color Ideas
    • Long Hairstyles
    • Medium Hairstyles
    • Short Hairstyles
    • All Natural
    • All Lifestyle
    • Astrology
    • Travel
    • Weddings
    • Books
    • Food and Drink
    • Home and Decorating
    • Well Well Well
    • All Politics & Social Issues
    • Joe Biden
    • Jill Biden
    • Kamala Harris
    • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
    • Career
  • Pop Culture and Entertainment
  • About InStyle

Profile Menu

Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Pin FB

Explore InStyle

InStyle InStyle
  • Explore

    Explore

    • If the Coastal Grandmother Trend Isn't for You, How About Its Alternative, Fancy Grandma?

      If the Coastal Grandmother Trend Isn't for You, How About Its Alternative, Fancy Grandma?

      It's just as comfy but a tad more exciting. Read More
    • It Seems Like Everyone Has False Lashes These Days — Here's Why

      It Seems Like Everyone Has False Lashes These Days — Here's Why

      There's a reason why they're trending. Read More
    • 8 Ways to Wear a Sheer Lace Dress, According to Stylists

      8 Ways to Wear a Sheer Lace Dress, According to Stylists

      The pros are weighing in on this trick, celeb-loved trend. Read More
  • News
  • Fashion

    Fashion

    See All Fashion
    This Easy Guide Is the Trick to Finding Your Signature Fashion Color

    This Easy Guide Is the Trick to Finding Your Signature Fashion Color

    It's all about your skin's undertones.
    • Clothing
    • Accessories
    • Street Style
    • Look of the Day
    • Fashion Week
    • Future Of Fashion
  • Celebrity

    Celebrity

    See All Celebrity
    The Best Beauty Looks From The 2022 Met Gala Scream Gilded Age

    The Best Beauty Looks From The 2022 Met Gala Scream Gilded Age

    Big hair, tiaras, and gold lids — oh my!
    • Awards and Events
    • Celebrity Transformations
  • Beauty

    Beauty

    See All Beauty
    The Dos and Don'ts of Mixing Skincare Ingredients

    The Dos and Don'ts of Mixing Skincare Ingredients

    Plus, when and how to use them.
    • Makeup
    • Best Beauty Buys
    • Health & Fitness
    • Skincare
  • Hair

    Hair

    See All Hair
    How to Get the Wet Look Without Making Your Hair Feel Crunchy

    How to Get the Wet Look Without Making Your Hair Feel Crunchy

    It's really quite simple.
    • Celeb Hairstyles
    • Color Ideas
    • Long Hairstyles
    • Medium Hairstyles
    • Short Hairstyles
    • All Natural
  • Lifestyle

    Lifestyle

    See All Lifestyle
    The One Nail Polish Color Your Zodiac Sign Should Wear for Taurus Season — and Why

    The One Nail Polish Color Your Zodiac Sign Should Wear for Taurus Season — and Why

    Leos should wear glitter, of course.
    • Astrology
    • Travel
    • Weddings
    • Books
    • Food and Drink
    • Home and Decorating
    • Well Well Well
  • Politics & Social Issues

    Politics & Social Issues

    See All Politics & Social Issues
    50 Badass Change Makers

    50 Badass Change Makers

    The world may feel heavy at the start of 2022, but this list of change makers has us optimistic for brighter days to come.
    • Joe Biden
    • Jill Biden
    • Kamala Harris
    • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
    • Career
  • Pop Culture and Entertainment
  • About InStyle

Profile Menu

Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. News
  3. 3 Olympic Hopefuls You Should Watch For in the 2018 Games

3 Olympic Hopefuls You Should Watch For in the 2018 Games

alexandra-whittaker
By Alexandra Whittaker Updated Nov 03, 2017 @ 5:45 pm
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Nathan Chen
Credit: Courtesy of Kellogg

Believe it or not, the Winter Olympics are only a few months away. It may not feel like it in this post-Halloween, pre-Thanksgiving season, but the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are heading to PyeongChang, South Korea, in nearly 100 days, and athletes around the world are preparing vigorously for it.

While Olympic rosters won't be finalized for most sports until closer to the games, some athletes are already being watched and spotlighted because of their athletic prowess and competitive track record, and we spoke to three of them. Nathan Chen (pictured above) is the 2017 U.S. Men's Figure Skating Champion, Kelly Clark is a four-time U.S. Olympic snowboarder and three-time U.S. Olympic medalist, and Mike Schultz is the U.S. National Paralympic Snowboard Champion, so needless to say, they're kind of a big deal.

These athletes don't compete in the same sport, but they do have one major thing in common: their faces are on cereal boxes. Each athlete has partnered with Kellogg's, and they'll be documenting their paths toward the Olympics with the brand's #GetsMeStarted campaign. Below, they tells us all about their training, life as a competitive athlete, and (what else?) the Olympics.

Start Slideshow

1 of 3

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Nathan Chen, Figure Skating

Athletes on Kellogg Cereal Box
Credit: Courtesy of Kellogg

To say Chen is "one to watch" is practically an understatement at this point. The massively talented 18-year-old figure skater is currently the only skater who competes with five different types of quadruple jumps. As he works toward his very first Olympics, he reflected on his Olympic-related beginnings.

"I was born in Salt Lake city, and when I was 3 years old, they had the Olympic Games there, and because of that, they opened up a whole bunch of different rinks and practice facilities in my area," he told InStyle. "I remember watching my older brother play hockey. I saw the goalie and I thought the gear was so cool, and I was like, 'Alright, that's what I want to do.'"

When his mom decided that a figure skate blade might be easier to skate on than a hockey blade, she got him figure skates instead. The rest, as they say, is history.

Chen is particularly skilled at different kinds of quadruple jumps, which not many skaters can say, but it's still important to him to try and balance his technical skills with program artistry.

"[That balance] is definitely a hot topic right now in skating. I think to have a solid technical base comes first, and that's something I did prove and need to continue proving so that I can rack in that technical score," he said. "At the same time, skating is a full package sport and that's something I put a lot of emphasis and thought into this year in terms of a story in my programs."

Chen will appear on boxes of Corn Flakes, which will come out nationwide in December.

1 of 3

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 3

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Kelly Clark, Snowboarding

Athletes on Kellogg Cereal Box
Credit: Courtesy of Kellogg

If you're looking for a decorated U.S. Olympic snowboarder, Kelly Clark's name immediately comes to mind. The four-time U.S. Olympian and three-time U.S. Olympic medalist was the very first athlete to win a gold medal at the Salt Lake City Olympics, and she's only picked up steam from there.

As she prepares for the fifth Olympics she's trying to make, her eye is on the prize, even though there's a chance she won't even know if she has qualified until two and a half weeks before the competition. But tthere are still a slew of intense competitions in the meantime that contribute to who makes the cut.

"A lot of people can be kind of shocked to find out that you don't know if you're going until the Olympics are a few weeks away, but I've found that having those high level intense competitions to even make the U.S. halfpipe team really gets you ready for the Games," she said. "The practice of being in the competition setting and being in those high-pressure situations over and over again is the best preparation."

Having experience as a successful Olympian already, Clark has learned some incredible lessons.

"The biggest thing I've learned being an Olympian is that you shouldn't treat [the Games] as a destination. I think a lot of people look to the Olympics to define their athletic career, but I think any time you're treating something as a destination, like if I could just get that job or win this contest, whatever it may be, the second you start to try to arrive is the second you start being defined by it," she told InStyle. "Defining yourself by external things you can't control is not a fun experience. I've learned to treat [the Olympics] as a wonderful experience and opportunity rather than something I have to do or must have to complete my life or my snowboarding career."

That sounds like pretty good advice to us. Want more advice from Clark? The athlete somehow found time in her hectic schedule to pen a book.

Clark will appear on boxes of Special K Red Berries, which will come out nationwide in December.

2 of 3

3 of 3

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Mike Schultz, Paralympic Snowboarding

Athletes on Kellogg Cereal Box
Credit: Courtesy of Kellogg

Unlike some snowboarding champs, Schultz didn't start out on boards but rather on road circuits. He was very into racing snowmobiles and motocross, even becoming a professional snocross rider, but a 2008 competition injury left him with an above-the-knee amputation. 

"I didn't really want to slow down, so I researched prosthetic equipment to get back in action, but it wasn't there, so I started to design my own," he said. "I designed my own to get me back into motorsports, but realized there's a big gap in equipment available for sports."

When he started looking into snowboarding-specific equipment, he began to learn the sport for research purposes and realized he was really good at it. After he began competing in as a paralympic snowboarder in 2012, things took off from there.

Schultz certainly has the talent to attract a fan base—but his biggest fan is his almost 4-year-old daughter. "She's my number one teammate. She goes to a lot of the competitions and is always cheering on dad. It's so fun to be able to share all of these experiences with her. There's not many people that get to do that," he told InStyle. "We brought her to Winter X Games when she was 8 weeks old, so she's been going to competitions around the country for a long time. She knows all my teammates, so she cheers for my teammates as they're competing. It's pretty neat."  

Schultz will appear on boxes of Frosted Flakes, which will come out nationwide in December.

3 of 3

Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Alexandra Whittaker

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 3 Nathan Chen, Figure Skating
    2 of 3 Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
    3 of 3 Mike Schultz, Paralympic Snowboarding

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    InStyle

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Accolades Licensing
    • Content Licensing

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithInStyle is part of the Meredith Beauty Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. InStyle may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright InStyle. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.instyle.com

    View image

    3 Olympic Hopefuls You Should Watch For in the 2018 Games
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.