Olympic silver medalist Patrick Chan‘s break from competition will continue into the Grand Prix figure skating season. He will wait until the fall to decide whether he will compete at the Canadian National Championships in January and World Championships in March, according to the Canadian Press.
“I’m going to take a bit of a break from the Grand Prix season,” Chan said, according to the news agency. “I’ve done it so many years, I think I deserve a bit of a break from it. Just take that opportunity to catch up with friends that I haven’t had a chance to and play some hockey or go do things that I’ve always wanted to do and just haven’t had the chance.”
Chan, 23, took silver at the Sochi Olympics behind Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu after winning three straight World Championships from 2011-13. He skipped this year’s World Championships, which were held after the Olympics in March.
Chan said he would need two months of training to get back to top form, if and when he decides to return.
“It’s not something I can just show up at in January and hope that I skate well and win another [Canadian] title,” he told the Canadian Press. “It’s something that I have to really prepare and I’d want to prepare properly so I’d have to take time out of the fall to start training for that.”
Chan said he struggled after the Olympics while touring with skaters such as Hanyu in Japan, being reminded of what he called a disappointing silver medal. It stuck with him even when he returned to Canada.
“Sometimes I’d be laying in bed and not being able to sleep and I’d just start thinking about how things could have been different,” he said. “Now I just sleep no problem. I mean it’s just no issue because there’s no point in dwelling in the past to be honest.”