He wants to be an Olympian and might have the talent to make that goal a reality.
He certainly has the belief.
“If I can keep this up, keep working hard, I can absolutely see that happening,” Carson Chan says.
The ambitious objective arrived suddenly and unexpectedly, just like 15-year-old Carson has done in his chosen sport of archery.
Before he shot his first arrow 2 1/2 years ago, Carson acknowledged he “was never competitive.”
That changed shortly after he sampled a free, 15-minute session at Irvine’s HSS Sports Academy. To be more precise, it might have been archery that chose Carson.
He immediately displayed the sort of promise and consistency that impressed coach Hyang-Soon Seo, an archery gold medalist for Korea at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
She suggested he could excel at an elite level, too, awakening his competitive spirit by intensifying his training.
“I think my coach kind of dragged me into it a little bit,” Carson says, smiling. “She was like, ‘OK, you’re doing well. Let’s get you competition-ready in just a few months.’ ”
“It means a lot to me, knowing that the work I’ve put in has come to some fruition. It’s a stepping stone, with a lot of goals to come.”
Carson Chan
By early 2023, he was finishing in the top five at major tournaments and on his way to being selected for a regional developmental program.
His progress continued throughout last year, culminating in his being named to the USA Archery under-18 team in recurve bow.
“It means a lot to me, knowing that the work I’ve put in has come to some fruition,” says Carson, who is ranked fifth nationally in his division. “It’s a stepping stone, with a lot of goals to come.”
His appearance on archery’s biggest platform was so swift that people began asking his parents if he had learned the sport as a child or in another country.
Patient and steady
Though others expressed disbelief with her son’s seemingly instant success, Winnie Chan says she understands how it happened.
“As his mother, I’m not totally surprised simply because, even as a child, when he was teeny tiny, he was such a hard-working kid,” she says. “He could sit with his tutor and read for like three hours.
“That’s just his personality. That’s probably his super power, to be honest. Nobody will out-work him. He’s just very patient and steady. He’s very calm, like an old soul.”
All this began in an unlikely way, with Carson trying to avoid physical education class as he prepared for high school. Born with flat feet – “They’re extremely flat, like pancakes,” his mom says – Carson struggles to run or even walk for extended periods.
One day, his mother discovered that archery was an accepted option for independent P.E. and, through an internet search, she found the free program at HSS, the facility just a short drive from the family’s Irvine home.
“It all happened almost by accident,” Carson says. “We just got really lucky to have something like this less than 20 minutes from where we live.”
Carson attends the Irvine Virtual Academy – and is a straight-A student – allowing him to train six or seven days a week for several hours per session.
He’ll compete in a national tournament in Florida this month for the right to earn a spot at the 2025 World Archery Youth Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in September.
A family affair
Carson not only is setting his own path, he’s also bringing along his two younger brothers as both Liam, 13, and Bryce, 11, are experiencing early success in the sport.
It’s all part of the journey Carson hopes will lead to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where Hyang-Soon would make a notable return, this time as a mentor.
“It would be nice to win gold locally,” Carson says. “I think my coach would definitely be happy, too.”
