By Grace Knoop
A trip to the Youth Olympic Games has been on U.S. junior skater Jacob Sanchez’s mind all season, dreaming of the possibility of skating on the ice where history was made at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games.
After being named to the 2024 U.S. Youth Olympic team, the inspired teen is ready to write his own piece of history in South Korea.
“I’ve just been dreaming about competing in this competition since I heard I was eligible last year,” Sanchez said. “This probably has been my biggest goal this season other than the Junior Grand Prix.
“Being able to compete and achieve one of my dreams that I had at the beginning of the season is definitely very inspiring and I want to be able to also fulfill that dream of skating two strong performances in that arena and competition.”
Sanchez is coming into the Youth Olympic Games following a strong showing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series, finishing fourth in Thailand and fifth in Hungary. The New York teen first came onto the scene in 2018 when he took the U.S. silver medal in the juvenile division, and since then Sanchez has learned the importance of mental preparation and what it takes to see success at a high level in the sport. After having a disappointing U.S. Championships in 2022, Sanchez began to prioritize mental preparation by working with a sports psychologist.
“My whole approach to skating was completely different,” Sanchez said of the years prior. “The way I looked at practice and looked at every competition changed. I had different goals and I had different aspirations for last season compared to the previous season.”
His mental work paid off and resulted in a junior silver medal at last year’s U.S. Championships that Sanchez notes he won by letting go and enjoying his skating in each performance, a notion that has taken Sanchez to success this season.
In this year’s Junior Grand Prix circuit, Sanchez continued to embrace every moment, on and off the ice. One highlight for Sanchez was having the opportunity to train with his competitors during practices and enjoying the atmosphere the Junior Grand Prix brings.
“When I had my free skate practice and being able to be on the same ice as the top six skaters, and they are all such high-level skaters, [it] was a great atmosphere for me to be able to train in, and it definitely motivated me afterward,” Sanchez said. “I just wanted to be on their level and even surpass them in a way.”
As Sanchez becomes a seasoned junior skater, he is taking advantage of the opportunities that skating overseas brings — immersing himself in the different cultures and making friends along the way. Looking ahead to his trip to South Korea, Sanchez is excited to reunite with his friend and fellow competitor, Japan’s Rio Nakata, who recently won the gold at the Junior Grand Prix Final.
“I have met a lot of other skaters from different countries, and just hearing everybody’s stories, and how everybody skates and everybody’s training is really inspiring,” Sanchez said.
Along with the excitement of catching up with old friends, Sanchez is thrilled for the opportunity to skate on the same ice that his heroes – Vincent Zhou, Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu –competed on in 2018 at the Gangneung Ice Arena. Sanchez regularly rewatches those Olympic skates for inspiration.
“Being able to skate on the same ice and the same arena that history was made and all these amazing skaters were able to skate and compete is amazing and being given that opportunity, I’m so excited just to even practice on the ice,” Sanchez said.
“I can say that I skated on the same ice that Yuzuru Hanyu won his second Olympic title or the same ice that Nathan Chen did his six quad free skate,” he continued.
Sanchez will soon step onto that hallowed ice at the Gangneung Ice Arena, retracing the footsteps of his heroes and getting the chance to make his own kind of history at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games.
Follow Jacob Sanchez at the Youth Olympic Games by livestreaming the event on Peacock or following the event online here.
