Or, Patrick Chan is the Voldemort of men's figure skating.
Have you ever noticed? When Patrick Chan wins Worlds, his fellow podium-mates take a tumble in the rankings, dropping off the Worlds podium (and eventually out of Worlds altogether?).
2011: Silver medalist Kozuka drops to 11th place in 2012, and isn't sent to 2013 Worlds at all. Bronze medalist Gachinski plummets to 18th place in 2012, and likewise doesn't make it to 2013 Worlds.
2012: Silver medalist Takahashi drops to 6th at 2013 Worlds; bronze medalist Hanyu drops to 4th.
Like Voldemort cursing the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts, Chan's winning boots his fellow medalists off future podiums and into oblivion.
Conclusion: If Hanyu and Takahashi don't appear at 2014 Worlds, Chan will win again. And Ten and Fernandez definitely won't be on the podium with him.
(This doesn't apply to the Olympics, of course. Chan won't win men's singles there anyway, as he is doomed by a curse of his own, the Canadian Men's Olympic Curse.)
Pairs and dance have their own Dark Lords. V/T and S/S in pairs, and V/M and D/W in dance, have monopolized the gold and silver medals in 2011, 2012, and 2013. There has never been a repeat bronze medalist in either discipline during these years.
2011 pairs - Pang & Tong - injury; fall from 3rd to 4th to 5th
2011 dance - Shibs - stuck at 8th for the next two years, no longer USA's number 2 team
2012 pairs - Takahashi & Tran - injury and subsequent breakup
2012 dance - Pechelat & Bourzat - injury; fall to 6th
2013 pairs - Duhamel & Radford - ???
2013 dance - Bobrova & Soloviev - ???
V/M and D/W also placed first and second at 2010 Olympics and Worlds:
2010 Olympics - Domnina & Shabalin - pre-Olympic injury, retired
2010 Worlds - Faiella & Scali - injury, retired
Finally, over the past four years at Worlds, if your name isn't Ando, Asada, Kim or Kostner, standing on the ladies' podium can be hazardous to your career.
2010 - Lepisto - injury, retired
2012 - Leonova - plummets to 13th in 2013, not likely to see another Worlds or Olympics
2012 - Suzuki - drops to 12th in 2013, in danger if Ando returns
Spooky.
Have you ever noticed? When Patrick Chan wins Worlds, his fellow podium-mates take a tumble in the rankings, dropping off the Worlds podium (and eventually out of Worlds altogether?).
2011: Silver medalist Kozuka drops to 11th place in 2012, and isn't sent to 2013 Worlds at all. Bronze medalist Gachinski plummets to 18th place in 2012, and likewise doesn't make it to 2013 Worlds.
2012: Silver medalist Takahashi drops to 6th at 2013 Worlds; bronze medalist Hanyu drops to 4th.
Like Voldemort cursing the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts, Chan's winning boots his fellow medalists off future podiums and into oblivion.
Conclusion: If Hanyu and Takahashi don't appear at 2014 Worlds, Chan will win again. And Ten and Fernandez definitely won't be on the podium with him.
(This doesn't apply to the Olympics, of course. Chan won't win men's singles there anyway, as he is doomed by a curse of his own, the Canadian Men's Olympic Curse.)
Pairs and dance have their own Dark Lords. V/T and S/S in pairs, and V/M and D/W in dance, have monopolized the gold and silver medals in 2011, 2012, and 2013. There has never been a repeat bronze medalist in either discipline during these years.
2011 pairs - Pang & Tong - injury; fall from 3rd to 4th to 5th
2011 dance - Shibs - stuck at 8th for the next two years, no longer USA's number 2 team
2012 pairs - Takahashi & Tran - injury and subsequent breakup
2012 dance - Pechelat & Bourzat - injury; fall to 6th
2013 pairs - Duhamel & Radford - ???
2013 dance - Bobrova & Soloviev - ???
V/M and D/W also placed first and second at 2010 Olympics and Worlds:
2010 Olympics - Domnina & Shabalin - pre-Olympic injury, retired
2010 Worlds - Faiella & Scali - injury, retired
Finally, over the past four years at Worlds, if your name isn't Ando, Asada, Kim or Kostner, standing on the ladies' podium can be hazardous to your career.
2010 - Lepisto - injury, retired
2012 - Leonova - plummets to 13th in 2013, not likely to see another Worlds or Olympics
2012 - Suzuki - drops to 12th in 2013, in danger if Ando returns
Spooky.