Patrick Chan goes into this week's world championships as an underdog for the first time in years, saying he knows he lacks the ‘fire power’ of some of the other skaters.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
Men's figure skating has changed in the 18 months that three-time world champion Patrick Chan was away from the sport.
So the 25-year-old from Toronto goes into this week's world championships as an underdog for the first time in years, saying he knows he lacks the "fire power" of some of the other skaters.
But his coach Kathy Johnson said it was partly Chan's return this past fall that sent his rivals back to the drawing board, looking to up their game.
"It's funny, because once again this year, Patrick sort of ran the table when he won at Skate Canada [in October]," Johnson said. "A number of skaters went back and said 'Here we go again. We've got to figure out a way to beat him.' And they started to put more quads in their [programs], and it was after Skate Canada when Patrick won that that Yuzuru [Hanyu, Japan's Olympic champion] went back and put two quads in his short. So always these men are pushing each other."
Chan walked away from competition after finishing runner-up to Hanyu at the Sochi Olympics. He was victorious in his comeback, beating Hanyu to win Skate Canada.
But now, where Chan has three quad jumps – one in his short program, and two in his long – Hanyu has packed his programs with five in all. China's Jin Boyang became the first skater in history to land four quads in his long program at February's Four Continents championships.
But it was Chan, who's known for his overall ability, who won gold there.
Chan isn't pleased about the focus on the quad jumps, saying recently it has turned the sport into a "slam dunk contest."
"Watch a man do four quads, what else is there? Nothing. That's it. That's all there is to say," Chan said after practice Monday. "It doesn't take a genius to realize that, I think it's pretty obvious.
"There's sacrifice, like anything, you have a little more here, you're going to lose a little bit here. That's different strategy, that's not my strategy. Because that wouldn't feel good to me, doing four quads, and having to rush through footwork, or having to rush through my slow section. That's not enjoyable for me."
Still, Chan's programs this season are technically more difficult than anything he's done before. At Four Continents, he landed two triple Axels and two quad toe-loops in his long program for the first time.
Johnson said they'll crunch some numbers this off-season, and will take a look at where they can increase the difficulty even more. He also has a second quad – the Salchow – that he'll likely add to his programs next season.
But for now, they're taking a patient approach to Chan's comeback.
"He's had a very good year, he's won three major competitions, that's pretty good for a comeback year," Johnson said. "It's just a very measured approach so he doesn't overdo. We definitely have a plan in mind over the next couple of years."
It's been three years since Chan last competed at the world championships, in 2013 in London, Ont., where he won his third consecutive gold medal.
He still has that hunger, he said, to stand on top of the podium.
"That's why I came back. If I didn't have that feeling, I'd stick to shows," Chan said. "I love doing shows, but I still have that little hunger for being better than everyone else, that's why we compete, that's why we're athletes.
"But I know that all I have to do is go out and focus on myself to be the best. Not focus on: what jumps did Javi [Fernandez] land? What jumps did Yuzu [Hanyu] land? I don't have to focus on that, I just have to go out there and be intuned to myself."
Chan was in good spirits after Monday's practice, talking about his dinner the previous night at a Boston favourite, Legal Sea Foods.
"It's like competing at home in a way, it's always nice to be here in North America for world championships, it doesn't happen often," Chan said. "So when you have a chance, take advantage of it, have fun."
Nam Nguyen of Toronto, who was fifth at last year's world championships, is Canada's other men's singles entry. The men's singles short program is scheduled for Wednesday at TD Garden.