Nathan Chen made history at the Beijing Winter Games, becoming the first American to win an individual Olympic gold in figure skating for more than a decade.

But it was the sweet gesture he made upon returning to the U.S. this week that has really melted people's hearts.

During a live appearance on Tuesday morning's 'Today' show, the 22-year-old gave his hard-won medal away to the person who made it all possible - his mom.

Chen had only been back in the country for a couple of hours when he appeared on the Today show, and hadn't seen his mom Hetty Wang in over a month. So you can imagine his surprise when, midway through the interview, she walked on stage with a couple of famous New York pizzas.

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"Oh my gosh! What the heck?! No way!" he said. "Oh my God. It's my mom!"

Chen gave his mom a huge hug and then - to everybody's surprise - took his gold medal off and placed it around her neck.

When hosts asked Wang what was going through her mind as she held the medal, she replied with a laugh: "It's so heavy!"

She went on to say how proud she was of her son's accomplishment, saying: "It's a long journey. He worked very hard, every single day."

But Chen insisted it was as much her medal as his, saying: "there’s no way I would be able to make it to where I have without her support. I started on the ice when I was three years old. She gave me structure, she made it fun for me, made it a sport that I loved."

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He added that the medal was shared between himself, his team - but mostly his mom.

"It's largely hers," he said, gesturing towards her. "And everyone else on my team, but mostly her I would say... Since the very first day that I got on the ice all the way until now, she's been with me every single step of the way."

"This medal is largely hers," he said.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images / Alamy

Nathan Chen places his Olympic gold medal around his mom's neck during surprise reunion