Chan jumps into the medal hunt
HELSINKI — Canada’s Patrick Chan made his one quadruple jump a big one, his feet nearly clearing the top of the boards at Hartwell Arena.
The three-time world champion sat third after Thursday’s men’s short program at the world figure skating championships, planting himself in podium contention with the textbook skills and gorgeous execution that once made him the world’s best. Plus just one quad. “I was trying to stick to my plan,” Chan said. “I’m sitting [at the post-skate news conference] with two guys who have two quads in their short program, and I’m the only guy who was doing one.
“I found out this entire season that I almost psych myself out by just seeing and acknowledging what they’re doing and then forgetting what I need to do . . . . My whole goal this year was to try and challenge myself just to stay in my own world and know that I belong in this group of men, and not get too discouraged.”
Defending champion Javier Fernandez of Spain scored 109.05 to win the short program, while Japan’s Shoma Uno (104.86) was second. Each had a pair of clean quads.
Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam landed both of his quads cleanly to finish 12th with a score of 84.44.
Skating to the Beatles’ Dear Prudence and Blackbird, Chan opened with his huge textbook quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination followed by a triple Axel to score 102.13, his first time cracking the 100-point barrier.
“I was able to hit over 100 with one quad, so clearly it comes from the marks other than the jumps,” Chan said. “That’s the highlight for me today, that I was able to do that at an ISU [International Skating Union] event finally.”
A debate has raged for years over the four-revolution jumps and their place in men’s skating, and this year’s emergence of teenage stars such as American Nathan Chen and China’s Jin Boyang — who learn new quad jumps the way kids take to new technology — has taken it to new heights.
After his silver medal at the Sochi Olympics, the 26-year-old Chan returned from a one-year hiatus to a completely altered landscape.
These are the first world championships that have seen five different quads — Lutz, loop, toe loop, flip, and Salchow. The sixth would be the quad Axel, which no one has done.
Chan found himself playing catchup. The nine-time Canadian champion hoped his superior skating skills could keep him in contention.
“I felt a bit of an underdog ever since my comeback year because of how the sport has changed so quickly in such a short time,” said Chan. “I have to remind myself: what are my strengths? Because I am in a whole different situation, a whole different generation of skaters than I was when I won my first world title. I have to remember and remind myself of the little victories.”