Patrick made the National Post’s Worthy 30 of Toronto:

Patrick Chan Age 19. Sign Capricorn. Gig Olympic figure skater. Drink of choice Ginger ale. Celebrity twin Keanu Reeves. Dream date Taylor Swift. Guilty pleasure “Video games.” Fun fact “I can be a goof ball.” Words to live by “Be a good person.” Why Shinan picked me “I am a fresh face in figure skating.”

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Lewis Chan has sat in the stands watching his son’s figure-skating practices for 13 years, but this morning’s practice might just be the most memorable.

Patrick, 19, will take to the ice to warm up for the men’s figure-skating short program in which he will be representing Canada this afternoon.

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For his first Olympic debut he comes fifth? I’m definitely happy! He can proudly boast that he is fifth in the WORLD!

I was definitely nervous walking into the rink yesterday.  A lot more subdued than when I first went in during the short.  Arriving an hour early, there was a lot of time to build up anticipation and nerves. I was more focused on watching skating, (and neglected twitter).  It was cool though, I sat next to the girls from General Mills, one of which created the Cheerios cereal box with Patty’s face.  Pretty cool to give them a running commentary of the event as well as answer any questions they might have about skating and scoring.

The first axel Patrick did was amazing! I was feeling good and really his Phantom routine is ridiculously hard! If anyone else were to skate that program they would be out of breath by the middle, without jumps! That’s how hard it is! I’m sure I don’t need to recap the routine since it will probably be on youtube but I can definitely tell you that I could finally breathe after he skated.  I’m incredibly pleased with his skate.

I had a good chat with his mom after the event.  We both came to an agreement that Patrick should now realize what he is capable of.  Even with flaws in his routine he managed to come fifth which shows that he does have the capability for greatness.  He isn’t far at all from winning gold and with a little more training and focus for another four years, he is well positioned to really achieve his dream! (I’m also extremely happy that Evan won btw, he’s my second favorite).  A little more hard work and more experience and Patty will get there, I’m sure! What an Olympic Experience!

Off again to explore the city! I’ll be hanging out with the Chan’s tomorrow so hopefully I’ll be able to get inside Patty’s head and fill you in with more details about his experience.  Till then!

-Aivory

Hey Chiddy Fans!

What a day! (Eh? Because we are in Canada after all) This has been quite a day so I’ll recap what Vancouver is like right now.  Arriving at the airport you see so much Olympic Pride sprawled out on every wall and every corner.  The accreditation station is located inside the airport itself which is pretty cool! I really have to commend VANOC and Translink for the ease of transportation moving in and around Vancouver.  The trains are straight forward and get you everywhere and the buses are also very convenient.  From where I’m staying in Burnaby to Downtown or the Pacific Coliseum it has been a breeze, accessibility wise.  I’ll follow this up with some pictures.

Walking around downtown Burrard is walking in a sea of red and white.  Never have I seen such Canadian pride before, it really is an amazing experience! (Plus, Vancouver really is the home of food.  I found a restaurant I wanted to eat at on every corner! I settled with Guu on Thurlow though, which was a fantastic choice!) Anyways, getting back to the point at hand.

First day of the Men’s competition.  I was so nervous walking into the PNE (could also be because there were policemen just walking around everywhere!) It’s funny, walking downtown, all you see is red and white but walking into the Pacific Coliseum all you see is sky blue! All the volunteers and anyone from VANOC is wearing that light blue color.

I’ve been in skating for a long time and never have I been that interested in the first group of a competition.  However, this competition was so different.  I am actually in awe of how amazing today’s skating was.  I have never seen that many clean programs at an international competition before! Notable mentions go to Florent Amodio who started off the competition on a high note.  Denis Ten was also another crowd favorite as was Daisuke Takahashi and Evan Lysacek.  I am very aware that there have been several other amazing skates but for me, those ones were my favorite.  Now about Patrick’s skate.  Yes he has definitely skated better days and even his axel during the warm up was a lot more spectacular than the one he did in competition.  However, he is sitting in seventh place which isn’t that far from the podium at all! I still have a lot of hope in him and I’m resting on the fact that he usually delivers when he has too.  I have so much faith in this kid, not only because he is my best friend but also because I know how much this means to him as well.  So I’m not worried and really I am so so proud of him for getting here to Vancouver as well!  It really is his dream come true to be able to skate on Olympic Ice!! Let’s keep cheering him on Canada! #Chancan!

I’ll keep updating from Vancouver as the week progresses with all the exciting events and news! Till tomorrow!

- Aivory

Finally en route to Vancouver to see Patty skate tomorrow! It is still unbelievable that he’s at the Olympics, and he’s going to have the skate of his life in T-1 day! Okay maybe not unbelievable but more surreal since its something we’ve all expected to happen but never really realized how fast this day would come.  Following Patrick’s twitter is really interesting, apparently he had a much larger standing ovation after his practice than most people do at other events! imagine the roar of the crowd tomorrow night!

Story of the day, of course since I’m leaving for Vancouver, I’m decked out head to toe in either Olympic gear or something red.  Crossing security, my bag was inspected and the lady then chatted up with me about the Olympics and Patrick.  She saw that I had my multitude of gadgets in my bag and asked if I was a photographer (which I’m not.) We then launched into a five minute conversation about how she saw this figure skater on tv and was rooting for him.  Naturally it was Patrick and of course I did express how proud I was about my best friend.  It’s funny how he’s a local celebrity (or national) since he’s always just been that goofy kid that eats my food and is somehow amazing at all sports (he plays golf, soccer, tennis, skiing, and others as well!).  Hopefully it doesn’t get to his head. LOL

Anyways, I’ll try to document what my Vancouver experience is like.  I’ll talk about the transportation, the energy levels, quotes from Patrick’s mom, etc.  I’m not sure how much access I will get to Patrick before he skates but hopefully I do get to see him after.  Stay tuned for more!

-Aivory

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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