US-born Chinese figure skater Nathan Chen, also known as Chen Wei, expressed thanks to his Chinese family, especially his parents, after becoming a champion at the 2018 ISU World Figure Skating Championships Saturday in Milan.

The 18-year-old became the first US winner of the men's world figure skating title since 2009, when US skater Evan Lysacek won the title, thepaper.cn reported.

Chen credited his family for contributing to the win, because of how they supported him in figure skating. He also said he considers his parents, who came to the US at a young age and worked hard to make their way in life, as role models when skating on the ice.

Born May 1999 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Chen once wanted to learn ice hockey along with his older brothers when he was a child. However, his mother worried that he would get hurt and advised him to learn figure skating instead.

Chen showed talent in figure skating at an early age and took part in a competition when he was only 4 years old.

He won his first national championship in figure skating at the age of 10, and became the youngest male figure skater in a national championship when he was 17.

"My mother always accompanies me when I practice figure skating. She was there when I first skated on the ice," said Chen.

"When I was a child, my family could only afford for me to take one lesson a week, or even two weeks, so my mother sat beside my tutor and took notes earnestly during each class. She did so to ensure I could perform better at the next class. It is my mother that made me take to the sport at such a young age," he said.

"In the days when I received training in Southern California, my mother drove me back and forth between Salt Lake City and Southern California, which meant she often drove 12 to 15 hours," Chen said.

He also suffered injuries in the 2015-2016 season that forced him to take a break from figure skating. But Chen recovered and returned to the ice with the help from his family, friends and team.

In Chen's own words, he became "stronger" after overcoming the injuries.

It is from his parents that Chen learned the spirit of hard work. "My parents migrated to the US in their twenties, when they had nothing and lived a difficult life. So they had to make their way through hard work," said the teen.

"They always want us to know that there is lots of hard work behind each success. Therefore, my older brothers and sisters as well as me have had some success in our careers," said Chen.

The world champion title in Milan redeemed Chen after his loss in Pyeongchang, where he missed the podium at the 2018 Winter Olympics after his woeful short program.

"As for me, it's the time to realize my dream. I don't expect the other competitors to fail. Instead I hope they can push me to keep moving forward with their excellent performances. I am so glad I have achieved what I should achieve," said Chen.

Chen has his eyes set on the next Winter Olympics.

"Since I practiced figure skating, I spend almost every day at the ice arena. Medaling at the Winter Olympics has been my biggest dream so far, and I will not give it up easily," said Chen.