The truth behind Patrick Chan’s China crisis

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BEVERLEY SMITH
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 6:24PM EST
Last updated Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 7:08PM EST

Patrick Chan can execute a quadruple jump with expert precision, but he discovered recently, on the eve of a major skating competition, that it's not so much his skates but his words that he needs to watch.
It all started last week, when a newspaper story took him to task for commenting to a reporter three months earlier that he felt underappreciated in Canada, that figure skating was overshadowed by hockey in this country, that skating isn't what it was in Canada years ago and that life would have been different if he had skated for China, where the government pays its athletes' expenses.

A few days after his comments were published, Mr. Chan won the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City – beating the crème de la crème of the skating world. Two days later, the skater, who remains undefeated in 2011, and whom figure skating champion Kurt Browning calls the best skater he has ever seen, was awarded the prestigious Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete. Fellow laureates include Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Ferguson Jenkins, Mike Weir and Sidney Crosby.

Since returning home from Quebec City, Mr. Chan hasn't stopped. He has been running on five hours of sleep a night, and has spent his days giving interviews, talking about his recent wins and those comments that got him into trouble. He is still managing the backlash – especially to the comment that if they hadn't emigrated from China, “my parents wouldn't have had to make as much sacrifices as they had and there would be a lot more respect for what we do as figure skaters.”

A cheerful chatterer at all times, Mr. Chan said his remarks were taken out of context, that he had just returned from a month in Asia and he had been caught up in his enthusiasm for his heritage. He admits he should have been more precise “and a bit more professional” in his comments.

“He does have a bit of a lack of filter,” said William Thompson, chief executive officer for Skate Canada. “We all know that. That is part of his charm, but sometimes his mouth gets a little bit ahead of his thoughts.