The London Free Press, May 2, 2011
Chan on top of the world
By Ryan Pyette
here was one enduring image of men’s figure skating at the Vancouver Olympics.
It wasn’t Patrick Chan’s disappointment over his fifth-place finish or American Evan Lysacek’s golden celebration.
It was the unimpressed mug of Russian star Yevgeny Plushenko, the reluctant silver medalist who couldn’t fathom how skaters without quad jumps were even in Olympic and world title contention.
That debate over the value of the quad dominated the competition and drove a wedge through the skating world. It had Canadian skating hero Elvis Stojko in line with Plushenko’s line of thinking and at odds with skaters like Chan.
And in the aftermath, one obvious question was regurgitated:
what would an ideal skater look like once he put together the total package of big jumps, fancy footwork, elements and artistry?
The answer? An awful lot like Chan did in winning his first world men’s title Thursday at Moscow’s Megasport Arena.
he deserves it , and i say congrats
“what would an ideal skater look like once he put together the total package of big jumps, fancy footwork, elements and artistry?
The answer? An awful lot like Chan did in winning his first world men’s title Thursday at Moscow’s Megasport Arena.”
LOVE THIS.
“And though back then the Russian veteran found Chan to be an incomplete skater, he could very well return to discover he no longer has the tricks to keep up.”
AND THIS.