Figure skating: Chan hitting his stride ahead of Vancouver Games
London (AFP) – World silver medallist Patrick Chan’s anticipated dream of an Olympic season, had not been exactly that ahead of the Canadian Figure Skating Championships held here this past week.
He dealt with illness, injury, a disastrous competitive debut at Skate Canada and, just days before he headed to nationals last week, the resignation of his primary coach Don Laws.
But, on Sunday, Chan, 19, shook off his early season woes and took a giant step forward towards re-establishing himself as a prime contender for the podium at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver with a convincing win of his third national crown.
He earned 268.02 points in all, a score puffed up perhaps by supportive Canadian judges. The silver medal and Canada’s second Olympic men’s berth went to Vaughn Chipeur whose score of 222.10 paled in comparison.
“I’m really taken aback with everything that happened here. With all the hardship I’ve had this season, to come through with a great performance here. When you put that (Olympic team) jacket on, you realize, I’m really going to the Olympics,” Chan said.
“I’m going to look forward to training now with a bit more weight off my shoulders.”
As the Olympic clock ticks down towards the men’s contest which begins less than a month from now, Chan will work hard to iron out the various wrinkles including less than solid landings that marred some triple jumps.
Under the watchful if not nervous gaze of his long-time Canadian choreographer and now coach Lori Nichol, and co-coach Christy Krall, from Colorado Springs, Chan performed superior if not yet superlative-worthy programmes here.
His performances were not yet on par with those he delivered last season in winning the ISU Four Continents title and world championships silver medal, but were better than some had expected on the heels of the resignation of his Florida-based coach Don Laws.
Laws threw in the towel saying he could not coach an athlete who had chosen to spend most of his time training 3,000 kilometres away in Colorado. Observers wondered if the split would thwart Chan’s Olympic ambitions, but it appears the transition has been rather seamless.
On Sunday, Chan credited training at altitude in Colorado with the increased stamina that allowed him to finish his demanding final step sequence with a flourish.
“I think we set him on a great path six weeks ago. We invoked everything he needed on-ice, off-ice — nutrition, sleep — enforcing that and tweaking it along the way,” Nichol said. “He’s been working hard, working smart and I think tonight is a product of that.”
Like Evgeni Plushenko at the Russian nationals, Chan also earned an astronomical score (90.14) for his short programme on Friday, considering the missteps he made.
To his credit, he was not shy about conceding the scores were inflated, especially since he managed only a triple-double jump combination when a triple-triple is expected at this level and put a hand down to stay upright on landing his triple flip.
His oft-troublesome triple Axel, however, was superb in the opener and his footwork impressive.
“I’ll be honest. I think it was a bit like Plushenko,” Chan said of the generous scoring. “I’m sure the other skaters are shaking their heads, but points don’t mean much to me. It’s how I felt going out and how I skated.”
Asked if her student is now on pace to challenge for the podium at the Games in four weeks time, Nichol answered, “You betcha. I have no question he’s going to be totally ready.”
