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Patrick Chan 2017 Skate Canada International Free Skate and EX Gala

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Last updated: Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Patrick’s free program was a struggle, but he bravely and beautifully fought his tiredness to the end. Even though fans were shocked that he did not make the podium, he received a bundle of support and stuffed animals, too! The next day, I am proud that he skated a fun and happy EX program, “Oh, What a Night!”

 

November 3: NHK Trophy Withdrawal

Nope! Patrick will not be going to Japan after all!

 

October 30: NHK Trophy Confirmation–See Update Above

At first, Patrick confirmed that he would be in Japan, but see the update above.

Han Yan’s Comments About Patrick

What a beautiful comment!

 

October 29: EX Gala Day
Video Links

EX Gala Program without commentary:

British Eurosport commentary: (link)

Commentator: 24 hours after the one of the low moments in his career when he failed to get on the podium in this mens’ event here in Skate Canada, he could come out and perform like that… sense of professionalism, sense of responsibility, call it what you will, but it was very impressive and… he has been throughout his career.

Three times a World Champion, he hasn’t quite been the same competitor after he took that year out. But who knows, at his very best, just could pull it off and get on the podium in Pyeongchang. Thank you, Patrick Chan.”

Chinese Mandarin ELTA commentary: (link)

Russian Eurosport commentary (link)

What Viewers Said About Patrick

Photos of the Day

#Patrickchan #figureskater#figureskating#figureskate

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Autographed t-shirt thrown out to fans:

Checking his phone during practice:

Patrick and Shoma met with fans!

Beverley Smith’s Article on Patrick

It turns out that withdrawing from the NHK was only an idea or strategy.

“I never had a skate like that in a big event,” Chan said. “I felt good and calm and when they called my name, I felt confident and my body felt somewhat good then,” he said. “But then I think the first fall kind of shocked me. It was a bit of a surprise. It’s been a bit of a rough road here.”

“I can only control what I can control,” he said. “It was hard for me to get started this year,” Chan said. “Maybe because I know the end is near. So it’s getting harder and harder and harder to push myself and keep grinding it out at the very highest level. It gets tough.”

“But it’s hard,” he said. “It’s definitely much harder now. I come to these events and the novelty has worn off a bit and eventually on a year like this year, I just really want to take my time and not panic.

“If making mistakes is how I have to get to the Olympics, then that’s how it is and that’s okay,” he said. “I really have had a lot of success this whole career. If I have another one, great. If I don’t, then it’s okay. I know it’s part of the process.”

It’s tempting to just give NHK a pass, he said, “But sometimes you’ve got to define when to push yourself through the tough times. When you really don’t want to, you have to push yourself or whether it does mean just pulling yourself back.”

I hope I at least did that and finished the program with a strong footwork sequence,” he said

Then he paused, realizing what he was saying. “I mean, look at me,” he said. “I’m trying to find the good in this footwork sequence, when everyone is doing quads.

“Not much positive I can say at this event, but it’s okay.”

I think it’s easy to overlook the beautiful short program which was overshadowed by the mistakes in the long program. Although it’s been a rough start, I hope Patrick can regroup quickly from this and fight on!

 

October 28: Free Program Competition Day!
Video Links

Free Program without commentary:

American Olympic Channel commentary: (link)

Japanese commentary: (link)

Korean SBS commentary: (link)

Russian Telesport commentary (link)

A moment of levity in the kiss and cry:

Fancam from the audience:

What Patrick Said About It

In the kiss and cry, Patrick said the following to his coach Marina Zoueva:

Patrick: Yeah, my legs are just… Thanks. I’ve never done that, so that’s good. At least I’ve done it. Just tired.

Marina: Yeah, I see it.

Patrick: That’s the thing, it’s like, yesterday is like so much energy, and then maybe today…

Marina: Not today.

Patrick: But I need the mental practice. I don’t know, maybe because I did the whole run-through… Maybe do even more. Just everything is tired.

Marina: Tired state.

Patrick: Yeah. Which is like, weak. That’s okay… (to fans) Thanks.

(The scores are read.)

Patrick: What do you expect? I knew it… okay, it’s fine. Hey, my body just can’t go, I can’t go. Like it’s, I’m not gonna… I can’t force it.

What Viewers Said About Patrick

Skating fans everywhere said very kind words about Patrick!

Scores and Ranks After the Free Program Competition

Free Program and Press Photos

Korean fans got an autograph!

When fans hit you in the head with a stuffed animal…

On the ice in his new burgundy costume!

🙏💕 #Patrickchan#figureskate#figureskating#figureskater#skatecanada2017#hallelujah

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Beautiful Fan Art from Mikirin

Patrick’s burgundy costume lent itself very well for this drawing!

My Halloween “Congratulations” to Patrick

Just for fun, of course, and to hopefully cheer up Patrick a little bit:

Mens’ Warmup

Men’s Free Program Skating Order

Patrick skates second to last, the same as last night. Very interesting!

Interview with Patrick: Emphasizing His Strengths

In this article, Patrick talked about what makes him happy and how he plans on enjoying his last season.

“I’m almost tapped out,” Chan said. “I’m more focused on my strengths now because at the end of the day I want to enjoy what I do, and what I enjoy most is footwork and skating and listening to the music, all of that. That’s what puts a smile on my face. Going into a quad (Salchow) or a quad flip if I ever want to, doesn’t make me excited, or it doesn’t make me exhilarated anymore. But that’s because I’m just from a different era.”

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada’s director of high performance, said: “Patrick has always been a package skater. He needs to keep that and be comfortable with that. “What he’s brought, we’re going to miss that.”

Morning Dress Rehearsal Practice Session

Patrick looked fantastic as he debuted his long program costume, a burgundy cowl neck top and black / dark gray pants. I was happily surprised to see that he has two new costumes right at the start of the season! So glad that he got his luggage back yesterday!

Video of his run-through – he did not do many jumps:

Do you think his top matches the color of my blog headings? 🙂

 

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Patrick Chan 2016 Skate Canada International: Day 2 Short Program

Patrick Chan 2016 Skate Canada International: Day 1

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