Nam Nguyen in 2012
Photo by David W. Carmichael/CC, Flickr
Nam is the Man!
Young skater, Nam Nguyen, wins gold.
Adapted from the Vancouver Sun by Nancy Carson
Level 1
In 2010, people saw a small boy skate at the Vancouver Olympics.
He was only 11 years old.
Everyone loved him.
He had big round glasses.
And he looked like a clown.
He smiled at the crowd.
He was a star.
That boy was Nam Nguyen*.
*say: Noo-yen
First win
One year later, he won
the Canadian junior title.
He was the youngest skater
to win that competition.
He was 144 centimeters tall.
And the other skaters were
seven years older than Nam.
Becoming a skater
It is 2003 in Vancouver.
Nam Nguyen is four years old.
Nam’s father wants
his son to play sports.
Maybe Nam can play hockey.
But Nam cannot skate!
Figure Skating
Nam’s parents buy him skates.
They take him to the rink.
All the children are young.
Nam cannot stand on his skates.
He falls and he falls again.
He lies down and he screams,
“Help, help!” He cries and cries.
A good idea
Nam’s parents do not give up.
They are from Vietnam.
But they cannot skate.
So, they buy skates.
Every night after work
they go skating with Nam.
After one month, Nam improves.
His parents learn, too.
Changing his mind
Nam watches the figure skaters.
He likes what they do,
so he tells his parents,
“I like to jump and spin…”
He does not like to “chase the puck around.”
No more hockey!
A good decision
Nam was born in Ottawa.
His family moved to Richmond
when Nam was one.
Now Nam is a serious skater.
In 2012 his family moved
to Ontario. They wanted
Brian Orser to coach Nam.
Orser won silver medals
in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.
Brian Orser at the opening ceremonies of the Calgary Olympics in 1988
Photo by DianesDigitals/CC, Flickr
Nam has a goal
In just 18 months
Nam grew one-half metre!
It was hard for him
to balance and skate well.
He practiced and practiced.
With his skates on,
Nam is now 177 centimeters.
He is almost 17 years old.
It is not easy for him
to find skates that fit.
Most skates are too wide.
My best
On January 24, in Kingston, Ontario,
Nam won the gold medal for senior men.
“It was my best so far.
It was amazing,” Nam said.
“I was dreaming of this
since I was eight years old.”
Winning three times
Nam is the youngest skater
to win the national title since 1954.
He is the first Canadian skater to win
novice, junior and senior national titles.
Jeremy Ten, from Vancouver, won silver.
This year, Jeremy and Nam will go
to the world championships in Shanghai.
Jeremy Ten from Vancouver won a silver medal.
Jeremy Ten from Vancouver won a silver medal.
Photo by David Carmichael/CC, Flickr
Vocabulary:
1. clown: someone who does funny things to make people laugh.
2. star: someone famous or popular.
3. rink: a place covered with ice for skating, ice hockey, etc.
4. spin: to turn around very fast.
5. puck: a black disk made of hard rubber, used in ice hockey.
6. novice: a beginner, someone who is learning.
Links:
- Watch Nam’s gold medal skating in Ontario
- Watch Nam Nguyen skate in 2014 at the Autumn Classic in Barrie, Ontario.
Canadian Patrick Chan, a three-time World champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist, with Korean Yuna Kim.
Photo by QUEEN YUNA/CC, Flickr