Patrick Chan is competing in the Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver in figure skating.
Career Highlights
2009 world silver medalist, two-time Canadian champion
2009-10 Music
Short Program: "Tango de los Exilados" by Walter Taieb, performed by Vanessa Mae
Free Skate: Selections from "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber
After making pre-event headlines for spouting off on competitor Brian Joubert's obsession with the quad, Patrick Chan was able to back up his words with a silver medal—ahead of Joubert. He skated a clean short program and was third, much to the surprise of the Los Angeles audience, which groaned in disappointment. Chan skated a clean free skate for his first world medal, a silver. Though he stayed on his feet during his programs, Chan slipped backstage after speaking with the press and landed flat on his back, a moment caught on camera that became a YouTube hit.
Chan has been compared to former world champions Kurt Browning, Brian Orser and Elvis Stojko in the Canadian press, lavish praise for a young athlete. But Chan says he doesn't find pressure in the pre-Olympic-hype. "People don't want to prevent me from winning a medal; they're only supporting me and cheering me on." He says his motto is to "just enjoy what is happening. Just to have the opportunity to have all this happen is like winning the lottery."
Chan says that his relationship with his nemesis jump, the triple Axel, drives him crazy. "It's like a bad girlfriend, or a good girlfriend sometimes, so I think it's just learning how to tame it and I'm still struggling with it every day," he says. "It's the big turning point of my program... It really sets the pace for the rest of the program." Chan says that his consistency in practice is improving and hopes that by the Olympics it will be a "walk in the park." And don't let Patrick's practices fool you—he struggled all week at Worlds in training but managed to put everything together when the pressure was on.
Though he's adamant that a quad is not necessary to win a gold medal, Chan plans to include one in his free skate. "Now I know why people keep postponing the quad in their program, because now I know it's not that easy," he said. "Having two triple Axels is hard enough." So why is he adding it? "[It's] something to really impress the crowd and impress the media ... It's a good thing to put in a program to spice it up a bit."
In a press conference following the 2008 Worlds, silver medalist Brian Joubert said that he was "disappointed" that Canadian Jeffrey Buttle won the world title without quadruple jump. When asked about Joubert's comments during the 2009 Worlds, Chan was quick to respond. "I was really disappointed. It's not sportsmanship ... He's kind of a sore loser, I guess," Chan said. "If he doesn't win then he always has an excuse for not winning or not skating well. Unfortunately, that's his personality and I don't really like it."
Before graduating from high school in 2009, Chan "commuted" to Orlando, Florida, every summer, long weekend or school break to work with his primary coach Don Laws. Before working with Laws, Chan was coached by Osborne Colson, who died at age 90 in July 2006. Chan was a pallbearer at his funeral, where he met Laws, who was a former student of Colson's. Chan credits Colson with teaching him life lessons that extend well beyond skating rinks. To honor him, Chan wears a gold chain around his neck that belonged to Colson.
Chan's parents were born in China. They met in Montreal at a table tennis tournament. Chan's mom speaks to him mainly in Cantonese, and his father mainly in French, but both also speak English. Chan says he is fluent in French, speaks Cantonese and would like to learn Mandarin.
Like many Canadian kids, Chan grew up longing to become a hockey player. His mother started him on figure skates, thinking that learning to skate properly would provide a foundation for future hockey skills. Chan has put those skating skills to good use, as he's started taking hockey lessons with a friend. He declared himself a "real" hockey player after an injury left him needing stitches. If he wasn't a figure skater, Chan says he'd probably be a tennis player. He also plays golf.
Career Highlights
2009 world silver medalist, two-time Canadian champion
2009-10 Music
Short Program: "Tango de los Exilados" by Walter Taieb, performed by Vanessa Mae
Free Skate: Selections from "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber
After making pre-event headlines for spouting off on competitor Brian Joubert's obsession with the quad, Patrick Chan was able to back up his words with a silver medal—ahead of Joubert. He skated a clean short program and was third, much to the surprise of the Los Angeles audience, which groaned in disappointment. Chan skated a clean free skate for his first world medal, a silver. Though he stayed on his feet during his programs, Chan slipped backstage after speaking with the press and landed flat on his back, a moment caught on camera that became a YouTube hit.
Chan has been compared to former world champions Kurt Browning, Brian Orser and Elvis Stojko in the Canadian press, lavish praise for a young athlete. But Chan says he doesn't find pressure in the pre-Olympic-hype. "People don't want to prevent me from winning a medal; they're only supporting me and cheering me on." He says his motto is to "just enjoy what is happening. Just to have the opportunity to have all this happen is like winning the lottery."
Chan says that his relationship with his nemesis jump, the triple Axel, drives him crazy. "It's like a bad girlfriend, or a good girlfriend sometimes, so I think it's just learning how to tame it and I'm still struggling with it every day," he says. "It's the big turning point of my program... It really sets the pace for the rest of the program." Chan says that his consistency in practice is improving and hopes that by the Olympics it will be a "walk in the park." And don't let Patrick's practices fool you—he struggled all week at Worlds in training but managed to put everything together when the pressure was on.
Though he's adamant that a quad is not necessary to win a gold medal, Chan plans to include one in his free skate. "Now I know why people keep postponing the quad in their program, because now I know it's not that easy," he said. "Having two triple Axels is hard enough." So why is he adding it? "[It's] something to really impress the crowd and impress the media ... It's a good thing to put in a program to spice it up a bit."
In a press conference following the 2008 Worlds, silver medalist Brian Joubert said that he was "disappointed" that Canadian Jeffrey Buttle won the world title without quadruple jump. When asked about Joubert's comments during the 2009 Worlds, Chan was quick to respond. "I was really disappointed. It's not sportsmanship ... He's kind of a sore loser, I guess," Chan said. "If he doesn't win then he always has an excuse for not winning or not skating well. Unfortunately, that's his personality and I don't really like it."
Before graduating from high school in 2009, Chan "commuted" to Orlando, Florida, every summer, long weekend or school break to work with his primary coach Don Laws. Before working with Laws, Chan was coached by Osborne Colson, who died at age 90 in July 2006. Chan was a pallbearer at his funeral, where he met Laws, who was a former student of Colson's. Chan credits Colson with teaching him life lessons that extend well beyond skating rinks. To honor him, Chan wears a gold chain around his neck that belonged to Colson.
Chan's parents were born in China. They met in Montreal at a table tennis tournament. Chan's mom speaks to him mainly in Cantonese, and his father mainly in French, but both also speak English. Chan says he is fluent in French, speaks Cantonese and would like to learn Mandarin.
Like many Canadian kids, Chan grew up longing to become a hockey player. His mother started him on figure skates, thinking that learning to skate properly would provide a foundation for future hockey skills. Chan has put those skating skills to good use, as he's started taking hockey lessons with a friend. He declared himself a "real" hockey player after an injury left him needing stitches. If he wasn't a figure skater, Chan says he'd probably be a tennis player. He also plays golf.
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