Expectations are high for figure skater Patrick Chan at the 2014 Olympics.
The 23-year-old from Ottawa is a gold medal favourite in the men’s singles competition, and will also compete in Thursday’s team event.
Chan, who missed out on a medal at the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver, has been preparing both mentally and physically for the Games. He arrived in Sochi early to give himself the benefit of practicing solo for the first few days.
“I trained and prepared myself to win a gold medal, but in order to get to that step, I have to first do what I have to on the ice and that’s skate and train every day to skate a flawless program,” he told Reuters.
And for the past couple weeks, Chan has been focusing on keeping a clear head before the high-pressure competition.
"That's what I've been working on the last two or three weeks leading up to these Games is not busying myself thinking, 'Am I training as hard as the other skaters? Am I a better skater?’” he said, according to the Canadian Press.
As Chan prepares to wow in Sochi, here are a few things to know about the gold medal hopeful.
