Patrick Chan

Personal life

Patrick Lewis Wai-Kuan Chan was born December 31, 1990 in Ottawa, Ontario. He has no siblings. His parents, Lewis Chan, a lawyer, and Karen, immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong. Arriving at the age of 4, Lewis grew up in Montreal, Quebec and pursued table tennis, golf and weight-lifting. Karen, who won both singles and doubles tennis championships in her native city, moved to Canada in her 20s in order to continue her studies.

Chan is of Han Chinese descent. His Chinese name is Chan Wai-Kuan. At the age of 5, Chan showed talent in downhill skiing, but focused on other sports after his family moved to Toronto. He has an enduring interest in many sports, including taekwondo, tennis, golf and mountain climbing.

Chan is fluent in English, French, and Cantonese. His parents wanted him to be multilingual, so at home his father spoke French to him, his mother Cantonese, and he learned English from his daily life in Canada. Chan graduated from École secondaire Étienne-Brûlé, a French-language school in North York, Toronto in 2009, prolonging his high school education by an extra year because of his skating. After Chan became national champion, the school created an annual sporting award in his honour. Chan said he planned to enroll in college in September 2011 and considered pursuing a business degree. He decided to study international economics at Colorado College, taking one course at a time so as to facilitate his training. He intends to study social sciences at the University of Toronto starting in the fall of 2014.

Chan has won numerous off-ice awards for his accomplishments. In January 2008, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto (Youth Chapter) conferred Chan with the 2007 Chinese Canadian Youth of the Year award. In May 2008, Chan was named Asian of the Year in arts and sports by Asia Network magazine. In January 2009, the Globe and Mail named Chan as one of the most prominent sports personalities in their annual Power List in Canadian sports.

Early career

Patrick Chan started skating at age five. He originally wanted to learn to skate to play hockey, but soon became interested in figure skating. His coach, Osborne Colson, made him spend 30 minutes a day on basic stroking, edge work, cross-cutting and balance drills. Chan said, "I tell people I owe the flow in my knees and the flow I generate from my edges to Mr. Colson. He knew he had to pull everything apart and start from the ground up on the basics of skating."

In 2001, Chan won the bronze medal at the Canadian Junior National Championships at the juvenile level, the lowest qualifying level in the Canadian figure skating competition structure, at the age of ten. He moved up to win the pre-novice Canadian national title in 2003, the novice title in 2004, and the junior title in 2005.

His gold at the Junior level of the 2005 Canadian Championships earned him a place at the 2005 World Junior Championships where he placed seventh. At the age of fourteen, he was the youngest skater at the event.

In the 2005–06 season, Chan made his Junior Grand Prix debut. He won the gold medal at the event in Montreal and placed fourth at the event in Slovakia. He qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where he placed fifth. He made his senior national debut at the 2006 Canadian Championships. He placed seventh and earned a spot at the 2006 World Junior Championships, where he placed sixth.

2006–07 season

In the 2006–07 season, Chan made the choice to move up to the senior Grand Prix, despite only having one Junior international medal. He was sixteen. He was assigned two Grand Prix events, and made his senior international debut at the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard, where he placed fifth. He later placed seventh at the 2006 NHK Trophy.

Chan competed at the 2007 Canadian Championships in Halifax and placed fifth. This earned him his third consecutive spot at the World Junior Championships, where he won the silver medal, becoming the first Canadian men's skater since 1984 to win a medal at the event.

2007–08 season

Chan began the 2007–08 Grand Prix season at the 2007 Skate America, where he won the bronze medal. He then went on to win gold at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard. He placed fifth at the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final. At the 2008 Canadian Championships Chan won the national title at age seventeen. It was incorrectly reported that he had become the youngest Canadian men's champion in history – a record held by Charles Snelling, who was 16 at the time of his 1954 victory.

Chan competed at the 2008 World Championships in March. He placed seventh in the short program and eleventh in the free skating, placing ninth overall. Canada had two spots to 2008 Worlds. Chan's placement, combined with that of Jeffrey Buttle, who won the event, earned Canada three spots to the 2009 World Championships in the men's event.

In May 2008, Chan performed in the show Festa On Ice in South Korea alongside show headliner Kim Yuna.

2008–09 season

The 2008–09 season was Chan's breakout season on the senior level. He won four gold medals and a silver at the World Championships.

Chan began the 2008–09 season assigned to the 2008 Skate Canada International and to the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard. He won the gold medal at both of these Grand Prix Events, thereby qualifying for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final as the highest qualifier. He placed fifth in that event.

He went to the 2009 Canadian Championships as the defending champion. He performed a clean short program and placed first in that segment of the competition with a score of 88.89 points. Going into the free skating with a 17.00 point lead, he stepped out from a triple flip, which was to be combined with a triple toe loop, but landed two triple axel jumps cleanly for the first time in his career. He won the free skating with 165.93 by a margin of 30.96 points, and took the lead with a total score of 254.82 points, a margin of 48.52 points over silver medalist Vaughn Chipeur. Chan qualified for both the 2009 Four Continents Championships and the 2009 World Championships.

At the Four Continents Championships, Chan placed first in the short program, in which he received level 4 for all his spins and for his straight-line footwork. He received a score of 88.90 points in that segment, by a lead over 7.25 points above the second-place finisher Evan Lysacek. At the free skating, he executed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, as well as a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination and he received level four for all his spins and straight-line footwork. Chan placed first in the free skating with a score of 160.29 points, and won the gold medal with a total of 249.19, 12.04 over silver medalist Evan Lysacek.

At the 2009 World Championships, Chan placed third in the short program with a score of 82.55, behind Brian Joubert and Evan Lysacek. He placed second in the free skating with a score of 155.03 to win the silver medal behind Lysacek. He was eighteen.

Chan competed for Canada at the 2009 World Team Trophy. Chan placed fourth in the men's competition and Canada won the silver overall, behind the United States and placing ahead of Japan.

During the off-season, he performed in the South Korean show Festa On Ice alongside Kim Yuna once again.

2009–10 season

In July 2009, Chan landed a quad toe loop jump during a warm-up session at the 2009 Liberty Summer Competition. He did not land it in competition.

Chan was assigned to the 2009 Rostelecom Cup and the 2009 Skate Canada International events for the 2009–10 ISU Grand Prix season.

Chan contracted a suspected case of H1N1 swine flu during a high performance training camp in Vancouver. The antibiotics treating the illness weakened his muscles, and Chan experienced pain while jumping. This was eventually diagnosed as a gastrocnemius tear in his left calf muscle. It was Chan's first major injury. Chan's injury rehabilitation included a treatment in which his blood was drawn, spun and concentrated, and injected back into his injured muscle. Chan withdrew from the Rostelecom Cup before the event. He competed at the 2009 Skate Canada International, where he received 198.77 points and placed sixth.

In January 2010, Chan competed in the 2010 Canadian Championships. He placed first in the short program with 90.14 points, 11.27 points ahead of Vaughn Chipeur, after making a mistake in a triple flip and receiving level fours for all his spins and his two step sequences. He won the free skating with a score of 177.88 points to earn 268.02 points overall. He won the gold medal with a lead of 45.92. He set a record score in the Canadian Championships. He was thereby named to the Olympic team, along with Chipeur.

The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Chan's home country, Canada. Chan scored 81.12 in the short program and placed seventh in that segment of the competition. In the free skating, he earned a new personal best score of 160.30 to place fourth at the night and fifth overall. Chan said later that the support of the audience at the event had made him realize how proud he was to be Canadian.

Chan competed once again at the 2010 World Championships. He placed second in the short program with 87.80 points, just 1.50 off the lead behind Daisuke Takahashi. He was placed second in the free skating with 159.42 points, 8.98 behind Takahashi, to win his second silver medal at the World Championships with a total of 247.22 points. Chan earned US$27,000 in prize money.

During the off-season, he debuted his newest show program, skating to Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy", at the Woodstock Skating Club in April 2010. He performed in the show Festa On Ice for the third consecutive year. He also performed in the show All That Skate LA, again headlined by Kim.

2010–11 season

Chan began the 2010–11 season at the 2010 Liberty Summer Competition where he debuted his new short program to the music of Take Five, a jazz piece. He placed first in the short program with a score of 78.88 points. In the same program, he landed his first quad jump in competition and was awarded a high grade of execution for the jump. Chan earned 149.91 points in his free skating, in which he missed the quad toe loop jump, but landed a triple axel-triple toe loop combination for his first time in competition. Overall he took first place with 228.79 points.

Chan was assigned to the 2010 Skate Canada International and to the 2010 Cup of Russia for the 2010–11 ISU Grand Prix season. At the Skate Canada, Chan had a collision with Adam Rippon during the morning practice before the short program. He placed fourth in the short program after with 73.20 points, after falling on his quad toe loop jump, his triple axel and his step sequence. He won the free skating earning a new personal best of 166.32 points after landing a quad toe loop jump and five more triple jumps, and was first overall with 239.52 points. It was his first time landing a quad in an ISU competition. Although he fell on a triple axel to make it four falls over the course of the competition, his total score was high enough to earn the gold medal. Chan also struggled with consistency at 2010 Cup of Russia, accumulating another four falls over the competition. He was first in the short program with 81.96 points, where he landed a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination and fell on a triple axel. In the free skating, he fell on a quad and two triples. Chan scored 145.25 points in the segment and finished in second place overall, 3.1 points behind Tomáš Verner. His combined placements qualified him for the Grand Prix Final. He commented on his performance: "It really bothered me. The week before Russia, I did four clean free skatings in a row in practice. I just couldn't grasp why I wasn't doing it in competition." Chan sought advice from Olympic champion Brian Boitano, "I had to find another way to force my technique, force my mind to do it properly, even through the times where I didn't feel well. [...] I still don't believe in a shrink. They haven't been in our situation, on the ice standing in front of thousands of people."

At the Grand Prix Final, he placed second in the short program with 85.59 points, just 1.00 behind Nobunari Oda of Japan. He landed a quad toe loop, a triple axel and a triple flip-triple toe loop. He won the free skating, setting his new personal best of 174.16 points. He won his first Grand Prix Final title with 259.75 points, a new personal best combined total for him.

Chan won his fourth consecutive Canadian National title at the 2011 Canadian Championships. He placed first in the short program with 88.78 points after landing a quad toe loop and a triple flip-triple toe loop, though he doubled his intended triple axel. He won the free skating earning 197.07 after completing a quad toe loop, a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination and six more triple jumps. This was the first time he landed two quad toe loops in the same program. Overall, he won the gold medal with 285.85 points. His free skating and combined total scores were a new record at the Canadian Nationals.

At the 2011 World Championships held in Moscow after a delay of a month, Chan won the short program with a score of 93.02 points, a new world record. In the free skating, he picked up 187.96 points (another world record), giving him a total of 280.98 points for his two days of competition. In September, he received three Guinness World Records certificates for achieving world records in the short program, free skating, and overall score. During the off-season, Chan skated in shows in Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, and South Korea. He also worked on a quad salchow, although the triple salchow is not his strongest jump.

2011–12 season

In the 2011–12 season, Chan was assigned to 2011 Skate Canada International and 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard as his Grand Prix events. In the 2011 Skate Canada International, Chan placed third in the short program with 83.28 points and won the free skating with 170.46 to win the Gold medal at the event. He also won the 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard and directly qualified for the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. Just before the Final, an interview was released that caused controversy; Chan and Skate Canada officials said his comments had been misconstrued. In December 2011, Chan competed in the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. He placed first in the short program with 86.63 points, as well as in the free skating with 173.67 points, to win the gold medal 11.18 points ahead of Daisuke Takahashi.

Chan competed in the 2012 Canadian Championships in January 2012. He earned 101.33 points for his short program after landing a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a triple axel and a triple lutz, and receiving level fours in his spins and footwork. He also got 10.00 in his program component scores. He also won the free skating with a score of 200.81 points, where he also got several 10.00 for his component marks. Overall he won his fifth Canadian title with 302.14 points, with a whopping 62.70-point lead over silver medalist Kevin Reynolds. He set a new record score at the Canadian Nationals.

In February 2012, Chan competed in the 2012 Four Continents Championships. He placed first in the short program with 87.95 points, 4.51 ahead of Takahito Mura. He also won the free skating earning 185.99 points, leading Daisuke Takahashi by 24.25 points in that segment of the competition, and got a 10.00 for his program component scores. He won gold with a total score of 273.94 points.

In late March 2012, Chan competed at the 2012 World Championships in Nice, France, and won his second straight World title. He placed first in the short program with 89.41 points as well as first in the free skating with 176.60 points, for a total of 266.11 points, 6.45 ahead of silver medalist Daisuke Takahashi.

2012–13 season

Chan started his season at the Japan Open where he finished in sixth place. In the 2012–13 ISU Grand Prix season, he was assigned in the 2012 Skate Canada International and in the 2012 Cup of Russia.

At the 2012 Skate Canada International where he competed as the defending champion. Chan took the silver medal behind Spanish skater Javier Fernández totaling 243.43 points. At the 2012 Cup of Russia, he placed first in the short program with 85.44 points and in the free skating with 176.91. He won the gold medal collecting 262.35 points overall. Chan thus qualified for the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final where he obtained the bronze medal. During a tour in December, he consulted previous Canadian champions on mental preparation.

In January 2013 Chan competed in the 2013 Canadian Championships. He placed first in the short program with 94.63 points and the free skating too with 179.12. Earning 273.75 points overall, he won his sixth Canadian national title. He then would compete in the 2013 World Championships.

At the 2013 World Championships held in London, Ontario, Canada, Chan won the short program where he landed a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a triple axel and a triple lutz, and received level fours in his spins and footwork earning 98.37 points – 6.81 points ahead of Denis Ten from Kazakhstan. He set a new world record score under the ISU Judging System. He committed some mistakes in his jumps in the free skating and placed second in that segment of the competition with 169.41 points, getting points enough to keep the lead and finishing first with 267.78 points overall, edging Ten for the gold medal by 1.3 points. It was Chan's third consecutive World title.

2013–14 season

In the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix season, Chan won both the 2013 Skate Canada International and the 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard with a world record score at the time in both the short program and the free skating. He finished second in the Grand Prix Final, behind Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Patrick Chan was part of the inaugural team event. He skated the men's short program and placed third, contributing to Canada's silver medal finish. During the individual event, Chan was second after the short program with 97.52 points, four points below Hanyu's world record score. Hanyu fell twice during the free skating, but still beat Chan by 0.54 points in the segment. Chan struggled in the free skating on several of his jumps but still won his second Olympic silver medal at the 2014 games.

2014–15 season

In September 2014, Skate Canada announced Chan would return to the competition circuit for the 2015–16 season. He was going to skip the entire 2014–15 season. The only exception was the Japan Open invitational event held in October 2014, where he placed first with a new free skating.

2015–16 season

During the spring of 2015, Chan stated in several interviews that he would start training for the 2015–16 season. For the 2015–16 season, he was assigned to compete at the 2015 Skate Canada International and the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard.

Training

Chan was first coached by Osborne Colson, who had previously worked with Barbara Ann Scott and Donald Jackson. Colson trained Chan from the beginning of Chan's career until Colson's death in July 2006 from complications arising from a car accident. Chan won the 2005 Canadian Junior Championship under Colson's guidance, and Colson had planned to coach Chan to the top of the sport. Chan regarded Colson as a grandfather figure, and the Chan family was at Colson's deathbed when he died. Chan wears a gold medallion belonging to Colson that is engraved with Colson's initials. Chan was then coached by technical specialist Shin Amano, who coached in the same facility. This was a temporary arrangement that lasted six months.

Chan began working with Don Laws, a former student of Colson's whom he met at Colson's funeral, in 2007. Laws had previously coached American Scott Hamilton. On January 8, 2010, Chan announced a coaching change to Lori Nichol, his long-time choreographer, and Christy Krall, a technical specialist based in Colorado.

Chan worked with Dr. Peter Davis, the former sports science director for the US Olympic Committee; choreographer Lori Nichol; Kathy Johnson, a movement and balance coach; Andy O'Brien, a strength, fitness and nutrition coach; physiotherapist Mark Lindsay; and Eddie Shipstead who helped with quads, using special harnesses which prevent injury. He also consulted with Brian Boitano during the 2010–11 season but does not believe in sports psychologists. He divided his training time between World Arena Ice Hall in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the Granite Club in Toronto. In 2011, it was reported that his expenses were about CAN$ 150,000. He performs in shows and holds fundraisers to support his skating. Chan said his parents had made sacrifices for his skating career and he felt connected to his Chinese heritage due to the support he receives from the Chinese-Canadian community.

On April 16, 2012, it was announced that Chan had accepted Krall's resignation. He credited Krall with improving his quad jump. For the 2012–13 season, he worked with Kathy Johnson and Eddie Shipstead as his coaches. He left his longtime choreographer Lori Nichol and asked Jeff Buttle and David Wilson to build his competition programs. During the summer of 2013, Chan moved his training base from Colorado to Detroit to continue to work with Kathy Johnson. The two decided they would move to Vancouver in July 2016. Johnson resigned in August 2016, and the move to Vancouver was put on hold.

Awards

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Detailed results

Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships.

Post–2007

Pre–2007