I can win gold without quad, says Chan

Published>Thu, Feb 11 10 10:14 AM

Canadian teenager Patrick Chan is not one for listening to his elders, dismissing "old" Yevgeny Plushenko's prediction that skaters would need to do a high-scoring quadruple jump to win Olympic figure skating gold.

Russian Plushenko, who has come out of retirement to defend his Olympic title in Vancouver, said after winning European gold last month that he was surprised recent world titles had been won without a quad and that this could not happen at the Games.

Chan, last year's world silver medallist and popular with fans for his intricate footwork, is one of the top challengers to 27-year-old Plushenko's crown but has no quad in his armoury.

Asked on Wednesday if he could win without the tricky jump, he told reporters: "Of course. Jeff (Buttle) was able to win the world (title) without it.

"Worlds and Olympics are very much the same in my mind so I don't see why it's not possible.

"I didn't want to risk it. I have never done it in a competition, so why do it in the most important competition of my life which comes only every four years? I stuck with the plan to do just two triple axels and a well-balanced programme."

He was determined not to be intimidated by the experienced Plushenko, saying he admired his technique even if his routine lacked the aesthetic appeal of more artistic skaters like him.

"He has the confidence that he doesn't need to do the transitions because he can do what I think is a magnificent quad. But he's old!" Chan, 19, said with a smile.

"For me the transitions are one of the most important things in a programme, it's very boring to watch a routine without transitions."

Under the new scoring system introduced following a 2002 judging scandal, marks are awarded for technical components and presentation.

Chan said that for this reason even if a skater landed the quad cleanly it was still no guarantee of a gold medal.

"It's not only about the quad," he said. "You don't win automatically with it, you have the rest of the programme which is where I come in, the footwork, the transitions, the interpretation."

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