Patrick Chan is heading to Beijing to compete in the International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating final, Dec. 9 to 12. The North Yorker recently secured his spot in the world championship by winning silver at the Cup of Russia in Moscow and gold at the Skate Canada International in Kingston, Ont., where he also landed his first competitive quadruple jump.
“I was thrilled to land my first quad jump in international competition in Canada,” said Chan, who skates out of the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club at Yonge Street and Wilson Avenue. “Winning gold was a bonus.”
Although Chan admits he’s not the best at long-distance flights, the final circuit stop in China might be the first time he lands a quad during both his short and free program at the same event.
“There’s a lot of skaters in the world that land a quad, but it’s getting it in the program and doing it in a competition setting that is probably the biggest hurdle,” said Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada’s high performance director, “just that confidence of being able to put a quad in your program and yet be able to do all the other technical things without jeopardizing any other elements.”
