Patrick Chan claims record 10th Canadian figure skating title

LOS ANGELES, USA – Patrick Chan earned a record 10th national singles title on Saturday, January 13 (Sunday Manila time) by winning the men’s free skate at the 2018 Canadian figure skating championships.

The 27-year-old Chan turned in a solid free skate routine to seal the win after winning the short program on Friday, January 12, at the Thunderbird Sports Centre arena in Vancouver, Canada. 

Chan finished with 272.24 total points as he easily beat runner-up Keegan Messing, who tallied 259.25 points. Nam Nguyen was third with 258.16 points.

“Today was not my dream skate but when you look at every champion in every sport, their careers are filled with ups and downs. It is how you weather the storms,” Chan said.

Chan is considered a lock to be part of Team Canada at next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Canadian Olympic figure skating team will be officially announced on Sunday, January 14. 

Chan has won 3 straight World titles but Olympic gold has eluded him. 

He has captured every Canadian championship he has skated in as a senior and Saturday’s win moved him past Montgomery Wilson, who won 9 titles between 1929 and 1939.

Earlier, Gabrielle Daleman celebrated her 20th birthday in style by capturing the women’s crown.

Her win comes 8 months after she underwent emergency abdominal surgery that she said saved her life

Because of the operation Daleman had to spend 3 months in rehabilitation.

Skating to “Rhapsody in Blue” on Saturday, the Toronto athlete scored a Canadian record 229.78 points. Kaetlyn Osmond  fell twice to finish second with 218.73. Crowd favorite Larkyn Austman, of Vancouver, won bronze with 169.62.

Also, Olympic gold and silver medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir captured their 8th Canadian figure skating ice dance title, in their final appearance in the event.

In pairs skating, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford breezed to their seventh straight national title. – Rappler.com