Patrick will have to wait a while before he gets to show off his stuff. The medal hopeful from Toronto drew the 24th spot in the 30-man field for Tuesday’s short program.

Reigning Olympic gold medallist Evgeni Plushenko of Russia will get a much earlier start after drawing 10th spot. Plushenko is trying to become the first man in 58 years to repeat as Olympic champion and will be the first of the top men to skate.

Turin runner-up Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland skates 19th, followed by Japan’s Nobunari Oda and 2007 world champion Brian Joubert of France. World champion Evan Lysacek of the United States is one of the few skaters to follow Chan, skating 28th.

For Vancouver-bound figure skater Patrick Chan, the support of his teachers at École Secondaire Étienne-Brûlé helped him train for the big show.

“They had experience with Olympic athletes already so they really helped me when I was travelling,” he said during a conference call from Colorado Springs, Colorado. “They gave me extra time for certain projects and certain tests.”

One of Canada’s hopefuls to medal after picking up gold for three consecutive years at the Canadian Championships, North Yorker Chan is happy to be competing in the Great White North.

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Patrick Chan has a typical teenager’s appetite for burgers and fries, a love compounded by his sponsorship by McDonald’s, and by a belief that, as he told Maclean’s this summer, “I don’t have to watch my diet.” But in recent months, the 19-year-old three-time national skating champion and world silver medallist made some major life changes. Not only did he switch coaches barely a month before the Olympics, but the ex-nighthawk is going to bed at a reasonable hour—and he’s eating his veggies.

“I used to eat poor and go to bed late, and the practice days were inconsistent,” Chan said in a conference call last week from his new high-altitude training base in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Now I’m doing everything almost like a robot: eat at the same time, sleep at the same time, over and over. Repetition.” Trusting the plan, he says, “that’s key to overcoming your fears at the Olympics.”

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Rod Black, who will call the play-by-play for Olympic figure skating on CTV in Vancouver beginning with the pairs event on Sunday, says he believes Toronto’sPatrick Chan has what it takes to become the greatest Canadian male skater of all time.

“I always thought that Kurt Browning, he was the best skater I’ve ever seen,” Black told CTVOlympics.ca, “Elvis Stojko was the best competitor. But I see Patrick Chan, I see a hybrid. A Browning/Stojko. He has the possibility to be the greatest Canadian men’s skater ever, and he’s only 19.”

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Canadian gold medal figure skating hopeful Patrick Chan spoke to the international media Wednesday for the first time since arriving in Vancouver for the Winter Games and maintained he’s less nervous now that he’s here.

The 19-year-old Chan of Toronto was a world silver medallist last year and is considered among the favourites for the men’s singles gold along with 2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko of Russia, 2009 world champion Evan Lysacek and teammate Jeremy Abbott, both of the U.S.; former world champion Brian Joubert of France; Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland and Daisuke Takahashi of Japan.

“I was actually feeling more pressure before coming here,” said Chan. “Now that I’m here I’m feeling a new wave [of confidence]. I’m having an awesome time. I feel lucky to be here.”

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VANCOUVER–The irrepressible and blithely un-circumspect Patrick Chan is never short on entertainment zing on or off the ice.

This is the Canadian men’s figure skating champion making a casual observation on so banal a subject as how he enjoyed recent high altitude training in Colorado Springs.

“I love it. Every day is blue skies and sunshine, whereas Toronto is cloudy and depressing.”

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Red Mittens, Check! Olympic Scarf, Check! Marc by Marc Olympic Tee-Shirt, Check! Yeah, I’m super excited that the Olympics are fast approaching.  Anyone else super excited that the greatest event of the year is starting?  Talked to Patty on monday when he arrived.  He informed me that the weather is warm, that he’s all settled and he’s SO EXCITED to be there!  Thanks to everyone who helped make his Olympic dream come true!

Looking back, it’s really cool to just remember just how he started as a young kid to where he is now.  I remember there was once a time where I could do a double toe and he couldn’t.  I was better than him at one point! That quickly changed extremely fast.  When I went on to the next jump, he was already three jumps ahead of me, that rascal. LOL and finally he’s at the Olympics! Words can’t be expressed to show how much it really means for him, for his family, for his supporters that he’s actually there! I’m definitely going to be a little sentimental next week.  Plus, I can’t wait to eat fantastic chinese food with his mom, she knows the best places! Let the games begin!

Coverage of Patrick’s Arrival | Sing Tao News

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. Canadian skater Patrick Chan will NOT be heading into the Vancouver Olympics with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Just the weight of 33 million Canadians.

“You can’t blow this being the home Games out of proportion,” Chan said recently. “So you kind of downplay it and be comfortable with your situation at the Olympics.”

Easier said than done. The pressure Chan will be under is tremendous: A teenager, competing at a home Olympics, in a marquee event, in a discipline that has never been won by a Canadian athlete.

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VANCOUVER–Such is Patrick Chan’s Olympic studliness that photographers were dispatched to the airport Monday afternoon to snap-document his arrival.

And the poor Games rookie hasn’t even laced up his skates yet.

“It’s almost surreal,” Chan told reporters at the airport reception. “It’s the first time I’ve been nervous coming off a plane because I knew what was coming up. It’s really cool to be here.”

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Toronto, Canada (Sports Network) – Canadians hope that Patrick Chan makes The Music of the Night when the country’s top figure skater takes to the Pacific Coliseum in search of gold.

The three-time national champion heads to the Vancouver Winter Games with the weight of the country on his shoulders.

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