- Joined
- Mar 9, 2011
New article entitled: "Brian Orser offers advice to Canadian figure skating star Patrick Chan leading into Sochi Olympics." It reads:-
So can Patrick Chan handle the pressure of being favourite for the Olympic title? Will he come through it with ease like Kim Yu-Na? Or will the Olympic title prove to be as elusive as it was for Michelle Kwan?
And now, 25 years later, Orser is asked if he might have any advice to offer his compatriot Patrick Chan, who has spoken at length in recent months about how much pressure he's feeling leading up to the Sochi Games. Like Orser in 1988, Chan is hoping to bring Canada the first gold medal in men's singles skating at an Olympic Games. No fewer than 14 times Canadian men have won at the world championships -- including Orser and Chan -- but none have managed to win Olympic gold. Being a defending three-time world champ, the pressure on Chan is building as the Sochi Games get closer and closer.
"You can't shy away from the Olympics and what it means and how big it is," said Orser. "And you can't run and hide. You need to face it, and face it daily. You can't pretend (the pressure) is not there and think it's 'just another competition.' Because a lot of people take that attitude that, 'Yeah, it's just another run-through' and then you get to the Olympics and then it's 'Oh my gosh.' And it becomes overwhelming."
So can Patrick Chan handle the pressure of being favourite for the Olympic title? Will he come through it with ease like Kim Yu-Na? Or will the Olympic title prove to be as elusive as it was for Michelle Kwan?