Chantastic....the return of Patrick

[nimi]

Was also very touched by the quotes following the team short from Scott saying they wanted to get team gold for Patrick and that they were proud of him for fighting through the short, and from Eric who gave him words of encouragement before the free. That is one tight-knit team that has grown up together and (except for the ladies) will retire together, and what a beautiful way to cap their careers with an Olympic gold earned together.

Yes, that was very striking. Also... This has probably been posted in some thread somewhere already but this quote by Scott after the FS/FD also made it clear how much of a team effort this achievement was:

“We’re really proud of ourselves because we weren’t happy with our approach in Sochi. We felt we were too casual and were using it more as a simulation. Tessa and I and Eric (Radford) came home with a sour taste in our mouths. We had a chance at Olympic gold and we were a little too casual about it. We set a plan, a four-year plan, Tessa and I were in hiding for a couple of years.”

“We wanted to win the team event in 2018 and we believed in ourselves and we talked about it as a team,” he added. “We wanted to make sure we got this gold.

Now I'm imagining Team Canada Elders meeting in secret in some basement: Tessa&Scott arriving in incognito mode with baseball caps & sunglasses on, Meagan giving a powerpoint presentation filled with skatenerdery & statistics and Patrick bringing a bottle of his ice wine.

ETA: Somebody said on twitter that you could hear/see Patrick be like "F*CK WE DID IT" after the gold was secured. Did anybody catch it?

 

[nimi]

I came across this article, and the quotes (which I think are the ones @marysy was talking about) from Eric and Scott really are heart-warming!

How Patrick Chan’s teammates helped him rebuild his confidence at the Olympics

Some excerpts:

So, in the days between his two skates, Chan's teammates set about to rebuild his confidence. (...)

Sitting in the dining hall in the athletes village, veteran pairs skater Eric Radford turned the conversation from casual chit-chat to something more serious. (...)

"So I just told him, 'You owe nobody anything. You just go out there, you pretend you're at home and you just have the best skate that you can, and we're going to love you no matter what.'"

Chan had effectively been given permission to fail. Radford just wanted him to skate like the Patrick Chan he had known since the two first met as kids and began working their way up the ladder of Canadian figure skating, both becoming world champions.

But Radford wasn't the only one working on Chan behind the scenes. Every time ice dancer Scott Moir saw Chan in the hallway, he hugged him and told him how good he was.

d'awww @ huggy Scott

It was a study in teamwork, in a sport that's not normally known for it.

Preach!!

 

[manhn]

You see how the experience in doing the Team event in 2014 helped the Canadians. There was certainly a commitment. The only non Canadian to get another team medal was Bob/Sol. You could see how they relished that second experience. Everyone else is so new and young, they seemed a bit shellshocked.

 

[Xela M]

I must admit, I absolutely hated the Team Event in Sochi and thought it was completely pointless, but I'm really warming up to it now

 

[sap5]

Wish Chan had really worked with a mental coach. I know he was seeing one off and on, but it didn't see like that was enough to help him

 

[cheremary]

I came across this article, and the quotes (which I think are the ones @marysy was talking about) from Eric and Scott really are heart-warming!

How Patrick Chan’s teammates helped him rebuild his confidence at the Olympics

Some excerpts:
d'awww @ huggy Scott

Preach!!

Thanks for linking that article! I had read a different version with fewer quotes but was glad to get a more complete story!

There was another after the short program with quotes from Scott about how they wanted to win team gold for Patrick: https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/unified-canadian-figure-skating-team-first-sitting-pretty/

Says Moir: “The goal is clearly to win.” It sure would be extra nice for Patrick Chan, one of the most accomplished figure skaters in history, the three-time world champion who is missing only Olympic gold from his extensive hardware collection, after winning silver in Sochi. In his short program in this team event, Chan fell twice, but still managed to finish third overall. He’ll skate his long program in Monday’s finale. “In a big way,” Moir says, “we wanna do this for Chiddy.” (That’s Chan’s nickname.)

“I think that’s what makes it so special,” Moir adds. “I mean, Patrick Chan, you could make the argument he’s the best skater that ever was … He was disappointed in his skate yesterday. We were actually quite proud. We loved the way he battled to the end. I know that’s not a Patrick Chan skate, but what I did see was him battle and it was a veteran move. It got us in the position that we needed to be in.”

 

[Sylvia]

Patrick Chan enters short program free of ghosts from Olympics past: https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/patrick-chan-enters-short-program-free-ghosts-olympics-past/

"My narrative is very different," the Torontonian said in an interview before the Olympics. "I’ve established myself as one of the best in the world at figure skating, I skate a specific way that no one else skates and that’s what I need to base my narrative off of, what do I have to offer this sport, for probably the last time? What’s my last memory I want to leave with people? In order to do that, I need to look back on Vancouver and Sochi and realize what were the dos and don’ts of those experiences, mentally mostly.
"I find a lot of the times an Olympic athlete on that stage, you stop your body from doing what it wants to do because you’re not used to being in that environment … you all of a sudden have this urge to try harder to do what you normally do. Now, I’m having a conversation to shut the hell up, just let your body do what it wants, it knows what to do, I’ve done this for 20 years and these are my third Games. In those three weeks, why do I need to try more than I ever have?"

"It was very shallow way of thinking about the Olympic experience," Chan said of needing gold to cement his legacy. "If that’s how I’m remembered by some people, then so be it. But for me it’s become much more in-depth than that. It’s become a story of self-growth. Not many people get to go to three Games. What can I take from it? What kind of things can I learn beyond skating? I still have such a long life to live. I’ve only scratched the surface. What can I take from this as I move on and feel this played a huge role in my life?"

Chan's impact to resonate for years to come
Ten-time Canadian champion looking to end Olympic career on high note
Posted 2/15/18 by Philip Hersh, special to icenetwork
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2018/02/15/266483492

The last word on Chan's competitive career most likely will not be about winning a second individual Olympic medal. Yet the quality of his skating will be spoken about for years to come.
Browning, the greatest men's skater never to win an Olympic medal, summed up Chan's legacy.
"Patrick will never be known for his quads, even as fantastic as they were," Browning said. "He will be known as one of the greatest ice skaters the sport had ever seen."

 

[falling_dance]

Go Patrick! Two random cheerleaders, some people who got drunk on your ice wine, a renowned coach, a statistics nerd, a compulsive crier, and a pair of great Canadian ice dance teams are all rooting for you!



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[manhn]

Final group!

I saw this short live in both Regina and Vancouver. Axel aside, I really did think he skated it the best tonight. That quad and combo were beauties. That footwork sequence. He really does have the best skating skills in the world. Everyone, and I mean everyone, look either heavy or scratchy in comparison.

 

[coppertop1]

Other than that darn 3A, great skate for Patrick. I hope he has a good skate in the LP.

 

[nimi]

Oh that darn 3A indeed...

“I am disappointed in myself mostly,” said the three-time World champion. I just don’t seem to get a break from the triple Axel and it’s something that I really had to work on really hard. I think I am the hardest working person when it comes to triple Axel. It wasn’t a natural jump for me. There is still tomorrow. I’ll just put all my effort into tomorrow (free skate).

“I have had a strike of bad luck with the Axel. I did not grow up with the basic technique for the Axel, so I had to go back to the basics of the Axel and it’s harder when you are older.”

...but otherwise it was dreamy. And he said he felt good! Yay!

Chan said he felt good and that he felt that he had ownership of the ice, which wasn’t the case in the Team Event short program.

I was wondering why the change in layout. I didn't notice anything wrong with his 4T, but apparently something was a bit off, hence why we got a nice 3Lz3T instead:

“I think it was great adding the triple toe on the triple Lutz,” said the 27-year-old. “It was good thinking on my feet, a lot of good positive things. I think the training really showed in the program—adding the combo on the jump that I wasn’t normally planning on. But there still was the one mistake on the triple Axel and at the Olympic Games, you can’t be making those kinds of mistakes at this level, but it is what it is. That’s life.”

(source)

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

With a season plagued by self - doubt and possible burn - out, Pat can hold his head high today with that short program.

 

[Twilight1]

If Patrick can get up to the top 5 I would be thrilled. He needs a lot of help to medal... but all my fingers and toes are crossed for him.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

If Patrick can get up to the top 5 I would be thrilled. He needs a lot of help to medal... but all my fingers and toes are crossed for him.

It ain't over 'till it's over. This is men's skating, where anything can happen!

A top five finish (or more) would be a nice way to wrap up this event for Pat.

 

[luckiest1]

Thanks for those quotes and that article, since there were no post-skate interviews shown on TSN last night. Patrick skated an amazing program except for that damned axel. I really hope he can conquer that beast tonight and come away happy with his performance. I am also hoping for a top 5 finish.

 

[Twilight1]

I so want to see Hanyu, Fernandez and Chan on the podium. They have defined the men's event for a while now.

Positive thoughts Patrick!!! Skate like you can without a care in the world!!

 

[Rafter]

Only one more program and you never have to do that 3axel again, Patrick!!

 

[Debrah]

For me this time it's not about Chan's results, the judge's will do what they will do... All I want is for him to leave the ice satisfied and with a smile all his face, knowing that he did his best and showed off his glorious edges, speed and flow. I want him to skate free, to remind himself of his joy for skating, not feel the pressure. I do hope he has his moment to shine brightly again, the way only he can and for all his fans to enjoy that moment right along with him. Yes I would love him to make the podium, but far more important is for him to leave the ice with no regrets. I want him to feel the love and our support for his talent - Go Chiddy - melt the ice with your smile!

 

[kittysk8ts]

ETA: Somebody said on twitter that you could hear/see Patrick be like "F*CK WE DID IT" after the gold was secured. Did anybody catch it?

Here is actual video with the bleeps. HAHAHAHA ! He bleeping earned the right to drop a few f bombs.

https://twitter.com/GF2445/status/962960667685806080

 

[mag]

Here is actual video with the bleeps. HAHAHAHA ! He bleeping earned the right to drop a few f bombs.

https://twitter.com/GF2445/status/962960667685806080

I love how at the end of video he realizes what he has said!

 

[judgejudy27]

It wasnt really Chan's night, but he already achieved what I think was his (and probably the whole Canadian teams) top goal for the Games, the Olympic Team Gold. He still has improved a ton since the start of the season, and gotten better bit by bit, and that in itself is an achievement. I will just enjoy his beautiful skating and godly edges in likely the last time we will get to see him, and hope he has an unlikely great jumping performance and skate to go out with, even if it probably doesnt wind up in a medal at this point.

 

[kittysk8ts]

I love how at the end of video he realizes what he has said!

Giggle. He really is cute as a button

 

[bardtoob]

He was the best skater ever and I'm going to miss him

 

[screech]

Even Leslie Jones is a fan.

I feel that he began to be undermarked on PCS when he returned after Sochi. There's no denying that skaters like Yuzuru, Javier and Shoma have so much talent, but there is absolutely no way that ANY skater should be tied with, let alone beating Patrick on skating skills.

 

[Vash01]

I really enjoyed bothbif Patrick's programs this Olympics (and I had enjoyed them in 2014 too). He is a joy to watch.

 

[clairecloutier]

Apparently Patrick is dating Elizabeth Putnam, former Canadian pairs skater, she skated with Sean Wirtz (LOL, how many Wirtzes have competed for Canada??)

https://twitter.com/cbchh/status/964805521109733376?ref_src=twcamp^share|twsrc^m5|twgr^email|twcon^7046|twterm^0

ETA: I also read on Twitter that Patrick wants to start coaching with Elizabeth in Vancouver.

 

[coppertop1]

I know the technical aspect has passed him by but I’m really going to miss Patrick! He is special. I’m so happy he had a great skate last night and can end his career on a positive note. There’s still that part of me that thinks he should have placed higher than the two Russians, but overall I’m happy for him.

 

[Rafter]

Even Leslie Jones is a fan.

I feel that he began to be undermarked on PCS when he returned after Sochi. There's no denying that skaters like Yuzuru, Javier and Shoma have so much talent, but there is absolutely no way that ANY skater should be tied with, let alone beating Patrick on skating skills.

Completely agree. But the judges tie in PCS with the jumps/quads now.

 

[bardtoob]

I wish Patrick would have done a no jump freeskate where he did everything a skater's skater would do while never leaving the ice. It is not fair that we only get to see extended skating from Zagitova and Medvedeva, although their's is enjoyable.

 

[screech]

I wish Patrick would have done a no jump freeskate where he did everything a skater's skater would do while never leaving the ice. It is not fair that we only get to see extended skating from Zagitova and Medvedeva, although their's is enjoyable.

ITA. Both of Patrick's programs are so beautiful that I'd be more enraptured watching him perform them without jumps, than watching any other skater of these Games do a lights out performance with 47 quads.