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Patrick Chan 2017 World Championships: Part I

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Last updated: Sunday, September 10, 2017

March 30: Short Program Competition

What a fabulous skate! Patrick is in 3rd after scoring 102.13 in the short program (his first time breaking the 100-point barrier in international competition)!!! He has now achieved the first part of his goal to have two clean skates, and I am so proud of him for saying afterwards that he needs to “remind myself what are my strengths, and go with that” (see interview transcripts below). His skating today was described as that of a magician, artist, or fairy on ice. Keep up the good work, Patrick!

See more comments about Patrick’s performance:

B.ESP English Commentary Video
Japanese Commentary Video
Mandarin Commentary Video
Russian Commentary Video

What Patrick Said About It

Mens Short Program Press Conference

Reporter: Patrick Chan, solid skate from you, too. What kind of thoughts were on your mind today?

Patrick: It’s hard to say. I mean, I was trying to stick to… kind of my plan. I mean, I’m sitting with two guys who have two quads in their short program, and I’m the only guy here who is doing one. So, it’s very easy for me to… and I found out this entire season is that I… I almost psych myself out by just seeing and acknowledging what they’re doing and then forgetting what I need to do, because I’m so focused on… like, kinda enjoying what they’re doing and then forgetting about my job. So, my whole goal this year was just to try and challenge myself to stay in my own world and know that I belong in this group of men, and not get too discouraged and… stick to my plan.

Reporter: You have a new coaching team behind you. How different does it feel this time to get ready for these championships? How does it…?

Patrick: I don’t think it’s very different. I mean, this is my eighth world championships, so it comes very much… day in and day out… for me, at least. I don’t… Of course these world championships are special, but they don’t feel like my first one. So my approach is very much controlled and repetitive and smart. One different thing that we’ve kind of tried with Marina and Oleg is that we tried and be smart, and I am a little older so I kind of have to… it’s not a bad thing but I get to have a little more breaks and be smart and, know when to work hard and when to rest the body, because I think at this point in my career I have to be focused more on longevity than anything else.

Reporter: You are giving us a fantastic opportunity to talk about edges, presentation, execution. Do you have the feeling that tonight it was really recognized as such in the scores and in the rankings?

Javier: …I think, I can say watching Patrick, you know, that what he said, he only have one quad, but he’s… everybody knows in this room how good Patrick can skate… When he gets it, when he gets a reward, then everybody’s happy, because he’s what he’s supposed to be. It’s fair. (applause)

Patrick: I still have to do my job, though. (laughter) If I fall, then it doesn’t matter. All that goes out the window.

Patrick: I mean, today was a perfect example. I was able to hit over 100 with one quad, so clearly it comes from the marks other than the jumps, and I only got a level 3 on one of my spins so it must be my skating skills and my components that helped put me in the top hundred, so… For me, that’s the highlight for me today is that I was able to do that at an ISU event, finally.

Report: For Patrick… Can you talk a bit about just the difference between being the underdog and the great favorite at an event like this, and sort of how it affected your feeling after you saw your scores today?

Patrick: Yeah, it feels… I feel a bit of an underdog since my comeback year, just ’cause how the sport has changed so quickly in such a short time. He [Shoma] learned his quad flip in… I don’t know, a short period of time, I think that’s what he said, so… (laughter) I’m competing against that. So, I have to remind myself what are my strengths, and go with that, and remind myself of that. Because it is… I am in a whole different situation, whole different generation of skaters than I was when I won my first world title. I think me and Javi are the only… [To Javi] I mean, were you at 2010 Vancouver? Yeah.

Javier: Yeah.

Patrick: Yeah, I think we’re the only two left (laughter) in this event that’s from 2010 in Vancouver, so that’s a huge achievement in itself. So, I have to remember and remind myself of the little victories along the way. That’s the only way I can hang with these guys, I think.

*It was amusing to watch Patrick pour water from a plastic water bottle into his metal water bottle under the table while Javi was speaking. The microphones still picked up the sound of the unscrewing of the metal and water being poured…

Interview with Helsinki Reporter

Patrick: It’s probably one of the best events I’ve experienced. World, international, any event… this is so well-organized, and we’re in a beautiful city… the beautiful city of Helsinki, so… It’s a best combination, you know, it’s fun for the athletes because we are in an environment that’s very organized and clean, and then, we’re also in a beautiful city that we can always visit.

Patrick: It is, and that’s exciting that men’s figure skating is becoming very, very competitive. It’s a little more pressure for the skaters but I think it’s also a little more fun for us because we get to push ourselves and… I had a great skate today and you really learn to appreciate your personal achievements.

Patrick: For sure, forward. The sport has moved forward very quickly. In that one year I didn’t skate, the sport changed very quickly and became very, very challenging, and the men are becoming even better, doing more quads, so… It’s completely different from when I stopped skating.

Patrick: Personal best for the long. I’ve already won world championships before, so for me my focus is not the medals or the results, it’s my personal achievement and what I can do and, hopefully land two quad… or three quads in the long: two toes and a sal. Thank you.

Interview with Charlie White

Charlie: …You looked very comfortable out there.

Patrick: I did, yeah.

Charlie: Talk about that comfort level and where it comes from.

Patrick: It was a process… having a rough skate at Four Continents, having great skates at Nationals, and trying to put it together… more mentally than anything today was… a huge achievement. Breaking a hundred, yes, that’s great, but mostly my… yeah, the calmness I had going into the short program is something that I’d been working on for weeks and weeks with my sports psych, with Marina, with Oleg, trying to master the best formula.

Charlie: Absolutely, and in a coaching change and when you’re working with new coaches, you feel that they bring out different aspects of who you are on the ice, and what do you feel that Oleg and Marina have been able to get out of you in this coaching change?

Patrick: Yeah, believing in myself, and with Oleg’s expertise in skating skills and actually, technical jumping skills, which was a surprise… all that, combined with Marina’s kind of know-how of previous champions… that combination just gives me a lot of empowerment and confidence when I step on the ice.

Charlie: Absolutely, and how do you keep this momentum through the end of your long program? What are you going to be focusing on?

Patrick: My approach into today. The practices leading into today’s short program had… stick to the plan. It’s hard to do that with all these guys busting out these… how many ever quads. It’s hard to stay focused on my own plan, which is to stick to my toe, to my sal, and then not to overdo it, and not to try and train at the world championships. It’s… pacing yourself.

Post-SP CBC Interview Clip
To have had a… some… a lot of challenges since my comeback… to know that it was all worth it and it was all part of the process, makes me feel a lot better, and know that… I’m on the right track.
Post-SP Finnish Interview Clip

Patrick: Very, very happy… able to break 100 at an ISU event is very special for me. Especially with one quad, I’m competing against men who are doing two quads in the short program so for me, just to be in the top hundred is a huge achievement.

Reporter: What do you think about your chances going forward in the long?

Patrick: Uh, you know, you never can predict the future. I wish… or else the sports wouldn’t be exciting if we could, and… nothing’s guaranteed. Every competition is different and unpredictable, so for me, I just can focus on my plan during the day off tomorrow, and then… competing Saturday, I need to stick to the plan.

Reporter: What’s your goal? Medals?

Patrick: I’m past the medals… I’ve had all the medals, especially at a World event, I’ve had… three championship Worlds, so… for me, it’s more about personal achievement. Like today, you know I’m in third, I’m not in first, but for me it’s… it feels like I’m in first because I was able to achieve a season’s best, over a hundred points.

Reporter: Great, congratulations, thank you.

Patrick: Thank you.

Pre-SP CBC Interview Clip

Patrick: I completely do have to lose myself in my own world… my own personal world, and that’s how I interpret the music, how the music makes me feel, all of that is for me to accept and to understand. I have to disconnect… like that’s the only way I can get it done… I can be successful is by disconnecting from the audience. It’s very selfish, maybe the audience doesn’t want to know that, but it’s completely… it’s a complete disconnect from my coach, from anybody beyond these walls that keep me on the ice. Everything else is… doesn’t exist and doesn’t matter.

I feel my blades, actually, more… the sound is the aftermath of putting myself and feeling the blade and where exactly I need to be to get the optimum, whether it’s speed or edge quality. But for me, it’s, I can almost close my eyes and feel the blade, and the sound is the product of that.

I find the best times is when I listen to my breath, actually, like I can almost feel the blood going through your vessels. It’s such a… you’re in a different world and you’re just shutting out all the useless senses, so almost… sometimes sound, sometimes vision… You go through… it’s so hard to explain, you’re just in a different world. You’re in… kind of flowing. You’re just in another place.

Other Short Program-Related Videos

Japanese TV report that includes some clips of Patrick laughing with Javi and Yuzu:

Accolades

How Patrick’s performance inspired his international audience!

SP and Press Conference Photos

#helsinki2017 #patrickchan

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#helsinki2017 #patrickchan

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#helsinki2017 #patrickchan

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And the Quad Age Winner Is??

Mens Warmup

More Pets Who Love Pchiddy

Cats always seem to be mesmerized by Patrick’s smooth moves on the TV screen. Here, another cat tries to paw at The Blackbird:

March 29: Practice Day and Men’s Draw

SP men’s draw video – Patrick’s draw is at 2:30!

Another video clip – Patrick is at 0:25!

Patrick will skate next to last in tomorrow’s SP competition at 5:26 PM local /10:26 AM Eastern / 7:26 AM Pacific time!

See short program time conversions here:

What Patrick Said

Apparently Patrick had a minor injury two weeks ago during a skating drill (article), but he learned a fresh lesson on how to save his energy and pace himself. That’s why he didn’t do many big jumps in practice yesterday.

Chan has changed up his practice protocol in Finland, and credits it to a minor injury he suffered two weeks ago in training.

I told Marina that when I’m rested it’s actually a lot easier because I just feel lighter and sharper. So we kind of want to bring that here. Usually I treat the practices almost like training sessions, whereas now I’m pacing myself properly, getting myself prepared for the event, so that I can save my energy for the event instead of being kind of exhausted for the event.

Photos of the Day

Patrick was out and about with friends/fans in the sunshine!

Banner for Tomorrow

One of the banners that will be displayed at tomorrow’s short program competition:

Pchiddy-Inspired Teddy Bears

Take a look at these teddy bears wearing replicas of Patrick’s SP, LP and EX costumes!

March 28: Practice Day

Patrick did not appear at the first day of practice on March 27, but he attended the morning session with Kevin Reynolds today and had a good practice!

Afternoon Practice

Morning Practice

Comments About Patrick’s Practice

Other Videos from Morning Practice

Yuzuru, @pchan31 @javierfernandezskater Shoma warm up Tuesday practice

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Let's start the morning with the skating skills of @pchan31

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More @pchan31

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Early morning with Patrick Chan 😍 #helsinki2017 #worldfigure #figureskating

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See another video clip from Miaopai here: (video link)

Photos from Morning Practice

Where to Watch Worlds

Check back often for more updates to this blog post!