Chantastic....the return of Patrick

Alilou

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New article by Beverley Smith
https://bevsmithwrites.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/patrick-chan-deletes-a-quad-for-now/
“I’ll admit it,” he said. “I’m not a technical genius when it comes to jumps. I’ve done what I needed to do to get to the top during my prime days. I accomplished that. For me to try to compete with the others, adding a quad flip, a quad Lutz, I don’t enjoy that. At the end of the day, I’m skating because I’ve continued to push myself into the 2018 Games, my third Games, because I want to enjoy it.”
 

Sylvia

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Two more articles based on last week's pre-Skate Canada International media teleconference call:

By Lori Ewing: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/w...trick-chan-fewer-quads-skate-canada-1.4367097
A recent training session that went awry has Patrick Chan scaling back his technical difficulty for Skate Canada International.
The three-time world figure skating champion remembers it was a Thursday. He was doing a run-through of his short program to "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas, and fell on the opening quadruple toe loop, fell on the quad Salchow, and fell again on the triple Axel.
"At that point I threw my hands up in the air and I was like 'At this point, I don't even want to complete the footwork sequence,' which I love personally, it's the favourite part of my program," Chan said on a recent conference call. "But because of the mistakes on the jumps, I had no desire to keep going. And because of the level of frustration that had built up over time, that was kind of the last straw that broke the camel's back."

By Dan Barnes: http://nationalpost.com/sports/olym...on-his-own-terms-without-a-gold-medal-in-mind
“I’ve spent a lot of years thinking about Olympic gold,” Chan said. “But I don’t give it much thought anymore, because my life wouldn’t change at all, and my life won’t change no matter what the results are in 2018. My priority isn’t to think about gold as much as people love to talk about it. It is exciting to think of the prospect of having a Canadian win gold, but my process as an athlete is completely different.” <snip>
“This being a third Olympics, I want to perform with a feeling of complete control of my situation, and really having made the decision thinking about my personal well being and my personal enjoyment of performing, if that makes any sense,” he said.
ETA - didn't see this news posted last month: http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/top-canadian-athletes-join-rbc-olympian-family-648284333.html
The RBC Olympian program is a national initiative that offers top athletes the opportunity to focus on training and competing while receiving much-needed financial support. The athletes serve as community ambassadors, attending hundreds of community and charitable appearances and bringing the Olympic message of teamwork, excellence and leadership to communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
Patrick was one of the 57 Canadian elite athletes (and only figure skater) named to this sponsorship program, representing Ontario.
 
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Japanfan

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Absolutely. I'd rather see Patrick out there skating a clean and magical performance, than falling on quads and losing his confidence.

That's all I want as well. The signature program I want to watch over and over again.

I don't care at all whether he gets a medal, and he's a long shot for the podium at best this time round. So the media hopefully won't be hounding him as a gold medal favorite like they did in the run-up to Sochi. From those interviews it seemed highly likely that he was going to mess up, as he did.

Just skate for himself.
 
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luckiest1

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I agree, without the media constantly touting him as a favourite to win gold, this year he can hopefully fly under the radar a bit and just do his thing. I don't expect anything except for him to go out there and do his best, but what I hope and want for him is that he enjoys it and is satisfied after it's all over.
 

puglover

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My feelings exactly!! Kurt Browning doesn't have an Olympic medal of any color but I am sure he has had a very satisfying career. Patrick, although heavily criticized, showed all of us what beautiful skating really looks like, sounds like, and is still worth rewarding. For some of us, he is a favorite son, and that is why I think we want his enjoyment and satisfaction above all.
 

Japanfan

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My feelings exactly!! Kurt Browning doesn't have an Olympic medal of any color but I am sure he has had a very satisfying career.

No doubt. What with his commenting, his shows (I think he's part owner in Stars on Ice Canada), and his recent venture into TV commercials, he's easiest the wealthiest figure skater in Canada.

There was that business with his mansion burning down due to a leaf blower incident a few years ago of course, but imagine that between his insurance and his wealth, I'm sure he's moved on quite nicely.

TBH I'd like to see CBC take on someone new for commenting. I've gotten weary of Kurt, because he seems so egocentric. :slinkaway
 

puglover

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Yes, Kurt seems to be very involved with this Cirque on Ice as well. I just got my TSN2 reconnected, I hope, so I will tolerate Rod Black on the main channel to hopefully see it all. I last saw Patrick live in Lethbridge a few years ago and although it was not my first time, he is certainly unforgettable.
 

Scrufflet

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I'd love to hear more of David Pelletier this year. I know not everyone loves his commentary, but I enjoy it. I don't mind Kurt, but this week I guess we are going to be subjected to more of Rod Black on CTV/TSN. :p
I agree! I would like to see Older skaters brought back to freshen up the commentary. Certainly David and someone else for pairs (Underhill/Martini?), Shae Lynne and Tracy for dance, Don Jackson Jeff Buttle and Elvis for men and Liz Manley/Jennifer Robinson/Josee Chouinard for women. I think this would be terrific for the Olympics and show casual viewers what a rich history we have in FS.
 

screech

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For a while Skate Canada had in-house headsets that audience members could use to get commentary, and IIRC, Jeff Buttle provided the commentary there. I never heard it, and I don't know how he'd be, though he'd definitely be able to explain the PCS side of things. The downside to him doing it is that he is connected to so many of the top skaters with his choreography.
 

Japanfan

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I'd love to hear more of David Pelletier this year. I know not everyone loves his commentary, but I enjoy it.

I really enjoy Pelletier's commentary as well, far more than Browning's, TBH.

Browning must have an in perpetuity contract with CBC.

I guess we are going to be subjected to more of Rod Black on CTV/TSN. :p

I know I'm in a minority, but I heart Rod Black. :slinkaway:slinkaway
 

WildRose

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CBC is doing the Olympics (as well as all the other Grand Prix events). That means we will get Kurt, which is fine with me. I like his commentary and he did a great job at the Sochi Olympics. I would be happy if they added David Pelletier too - I think Kurt & David work very well together. I am not a big fan of Carol Lane but she knows dance & they need an expert.
 
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FSfan107

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I'm very happy with Patrick's decision to focus on going with the jumps he feels he can hit for now. I just want to see him go clean and have some great skates at the Olympics. He's still my favorite male skater to watch. Even with all of their quads, none of the other top men skate like Patrick IMO.
 

barbarafan

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I'd love to hear more of David Pelletier this year. I know not everyone loves his commentary, but I enjoy it. I don't mind Kurt, but this week I guess we are going to be subjected to more of Rod Black on CTV/TSN. :p

david Pelletier is my fav. for pairs..His tech very detailed and user friendly. Kurt seems to only speak if Carole allows it.
 

luckiest1

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No sign of Patrick on the men's practice this morning. They announced his name but then did not play his music.
 

DFJ

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No sign of Patrick on the men's practice this morning. They announced his name but then did not play his music.

I think they announced he would be first to skate but I didn't see him on the ice. Bad news?
 

barbarafan

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I'm hoping it just means he hasn't checked in yet and took morning practice elsewhere. *please*
hopefully Marina is not somewhere with him convincing to remove all quads and the triple axel from his programs so Nathan is sure to place ahead..."Trust in your art ..Trust in your training" whatever she tells you do the opposite Patrick......she does not have your back
 

luckiest1

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Well that was an awesome LP run through! Not jumps (all doubled) but he skated the whole program choreography (almost). Lovely. Will be gorgeous if he can skate it cleanly on Saturday. So happy he showed up this afternoon - I was holding my breath LOL.
 

arakwafan2006

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hopefully Marina is not somewhere with him convincing to remove all quads and the triple axel from his programs so Nathan is sure to place ahead..."Trust in your art ..Trust in your training" whatever she tells you do the opposite Patrick......she does not have your back


Per an article I read today, HE is the one that was fearful and overwhelmed with quads and scaled back
 

Sylvia

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hopefully Marina is not somewhere with him convincing to remove all quads and the triple axel from his programs so Nathan is sure to place ahead
AFAIK, Marina is not affiliated with Nathan this year so why would she do that? Time to move on from 2014...

ETA:
Well that was an awesome LP run through! Not jumps (all doubled) but he skated the whole program choreography (almost). Lovely.
Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wmazDkZObE
 
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