Chan using victories as learning experience
‘I’m more in tune with myself ’
TORONTO • Sure, Patrick Chan’s performance at last week’s world figure skating championships might not have been his greatest. The 266.11 overall score is far from the the 280.98 he achieved to win his first world title last year, and so far from the 300-point mark he smashed at January’s Canadian championships.
And, OK, maybe he did hear the derisive whistles from the fans when they initially saw his score, even if at first he said he did not.
But the Toronto native retained his world title, and his butt is feeling better. Midway through his free skate in Nice, France, Chan attempted a double Axel. Instead of flying through the elementary jump, gravity yanked him to the ice.
“I felt so shocked.,” Chan said inside Pearson International airport Tuesday afternoon. “‘Why am I on my ass? What is this?’ ”
“So it was different. It was funny. I was mad at myself for sure, not embarrassed. Embarrassed after, yes, because I was like, ‘Man I just did that in front of everybody.’”
Sitting there, on the ice with thousands of eyeballs glued to his butt, Chan says he felt the “human” factor. Beatable. And if he wants to keep challenging himself, he never wants the eyes of the crowd, or the judges, to dictate his emotions. He has to get back up every time.
“At the time I was like, ‘salvage this, you can still make it look good.’ ”
And it did look good, with the quads, combination jumps, and the effortless footwork. But not great. It was another teachable moment, along with last year’s world title, the rest of his unbeaten 2011 season, and December’s media gaffe when he he was quoted as saying he felt more appreciated in China.
He is a young man still maturing. And, through it all, the 21-year-old has made sure he is skating for himself. Doubt, however, crept in two weeks ago.
“I felt burnt-out I guess,” he said. “My body was saying, ‘I’m pretty tired of [training in Colorado Springs]. I want to go somewhere, I want to go away.’ ”
Chan is in Toronto for a few days to relax before preparing for the World Team Trophy in Yokohama, Japan, in two weeks.
“Everything is more in tune,” he said. “I’m more in tune with myself that every little thing can change and you see all the little details. It’s great, you’re just growing and this is the best time, and you’re growing the most now. Yet it feels calm, it doesn’t feel crazy.
“I have to remember, what am I going to want? What do I need after x-amount of months of training. It’s playing it smart so I stay healthy as well. It is eating better, training and all that stuff.”
Everything — the routine, the titles, even the mistakes — is preparing Chan for something. The two-time world champion no longer has to be forced into talking about the next Winter Olympics.
“It will be really important when I get to Sochi … Of course, it is getting close, right? Now you can’t help but plan for it.”