'I'm hoping to ride that momentum'
With his first national title and World Championships debut already in the books, Canadian men's champion Wesley Chiu is aiming for even more success next season
Just about everywhere he turned during a magical few days in Vancouver, Wesley Chiu found a world men’s figure skating champions in his sights. Kings of the ice from both the past and present.
There was Elvis Stojko, three-time World champions from the 1990s. Patrick Chan, another triple crown winner from 2011-13. And the youngest of the bunch, the quad god Ilia Malinin, who conquered the world in Montreal a few months back — the same week Chiu made his debut on the sport’s biggest annual stage in front of loudly supportive audiences.
And let’s not forget the maestro of it all, Kurt Browning, the four-time World champion and mastermind behind this year’s Stars On Ice Canadian tour, which wrapped up a week ago with two shows in British Columbia — one of which included the 19-year-old Chiu as a guest performer.
“Lots of inspiration there for sure,” he said of the experience.
Indeed there was, especially for a young skater who aims to go to the same places himself someday in the competitive skating world.
“Definitely really inspiring being around them and seeing what they’re like, how they warm up, that sort of thing. I got to talk to some of them and they’ve been really helpful,” said Chiu. “Patrick’s from (Vancouver), and I talked to him quite a bit just about his skating, and with the rest of the crew as well.”
And yes, there was a little bit of advice to be shared.
“Just sort of stick to what I’m doing, pretty much,” Chiu said of the words of wisdom imparted in his direction. “A lot of talk (about) handling pressure this year coming off a national title. It’s really helpful information, for sure.”
Chiu certainly has reason to “stick with it” heading into a new season. Already, 2024 has been a year of wonder and success for him, starting with the Canadian title he earned back in January in frigid Calgary. He backed that up with some personal best scores in finishing seventh at the Four Continents Championships — the event that secured his ticket to Worlds in Montreal.
“There was definitely huge success, for sure. The season started out sort of mediocre, but I was able to reset really well after NHK Trophy,” Chiu said in reflecting on the season. “It was more mental confidence more than anything. My mental focus really took a step forward in the second half of the season. I think that really paid off in my success. I’m just hoping to ride that momentum, ride that confidence into this year.”
That momentum carried him all the way toward that rarest of March weeks in Montreal, the chance to skate at a World Championships at home. The raucous ovations for every Canadian skater at the Bell Centre were ear-splitting, to be sure. It was all part of the experience that Chiu took home with him that figure to resonate way beyond the 17th-place finish he produced.
“It was a huge learning experience. At the same time, the different competitions that I had prior to that really helped set me up for success at Worlds, with Skate Canada (in October) being a good experience of competing at home and NHK Trophy, having to skate in front of a huge crowd,” he said. “Those two experiences, I learned a lot about how to handle myself, how I react under those situations. Those two alone, with a bit more from the other competitions, really helped me stay focused and, more importantly, be comfortable under that big spotlight.
“It turned out better than I expected. I think I had a lot of confidence after Four Continents … just (wanted to) keep the ball rolling. It sort of felt like another competition but obviously, there were a lot more distractions with it being at home and the home crowd. But I think I was really well prepared that week, so it didn’t really faze me too much.”
Just a year earlier, Chiu found himself competing on home soil at the World Junior Championships, where he finished fifth. It was a mighty leap from there to Montreal, and in more ways than one.
“Just the whole energy throughout the event in general. In junior, it was a loud crowd but it was also a small building in Calgary. It’s definitely different in that way,” he said in comparing the two experiences. “The atmosphere throughout the whole week at Worlds was quite different, and you sort of have to skate and live up to that big expectation of skating at a senior World Championships, which is different that skating at Junior Worlds. And also, where I was in junior as well. I was sort of already in senior (he’s been a senior domestically for three years, winning a medal each time at nationals) but competing at Junior Worlds. That sort of had a different play on your mind. Both were really great learning opportunities.”
Ask Chiu what led to that big leap this season, and he will immediately point to two things: consistency and mental focus. They are absolutely connected.
“Toward the end of this season, my consistency got better. Just in the short program and the long program in a single competition, and three or four competitions in general,” he said. “I was able to put out more solid skates, cleaner skates and just seeing the scores stay more consistent. That has really improved and it’s something I’ve really been working on. The reason for that was just my mental focus and really being able to stay calm when I’m in a new environment. That really changed for me after NHK (Japan’s stop on the Grand Prix circuit, where he finished 11th). Maybe that was a bit of work, but also I think a lot of maturity played into that.”
That work wasn’t done entirely on his own. Over the past two years, Chiu has worked with Anne Muscat, a sports psychologist based in Vancouver who has been a mental performance consultant for Swimming Canada’s powerhouse program since 2021. Chiu credits her with being a huge difference maker for the mental side of his skating.
“A lot of visualization, breathing, just creating a routine that I’m comfortable with. That helps me stay calm and feel sort of at home mentally … I think that has played a big role in helping me translate my training into competition,” Chiu said in detailing what he’s learned. “Just being able to stay relaxed … That’s sort of the most important part. I think I’ve really been able to grasp that this season, whether it’s through mental training or the maturity of having a different perspective on competition.”
Perhaps that’s also why Chiu is able to keep that Canadian title in perspective. Make no mistake about it — that weekend in Calgary was a big thrill for him and an important career milestone. But he also knows it’s something that can’t be too front of mind as he enters a new season.
“It was such a cool experience. Right now, I’m not thinking about it as much as I did in the past. We’re sort of getting back to work in the off-season, trying to improve and trying not to wrap it around in my head too much,” he said. “It was great experience for sure, but obviously I want more national titles in the future. We’ve got to get back to work and keep improving.”
Already, that work has begun in earnest. His choreographer, Joey Russell, has already crafted a new short program for him. While Chiu isn’t ready yet to divulge all of the details about it, he does reveal this: “It’ll be different than what I skated to in the past. I haven’t done this style of music since I was really little; I think it’ll be really cool to have a more mature take on it.”
On the technical side, Chiu said the main goal for himself, along with coaches Keegan and Eileen Murphy, is refining the product he puts out on the ice.
“The quad Sal(chow) was sort of a struggle at the beginning of last season; we’re putting that back in and hopefully this year, it’ll be a lot stronger,” said Chiu, who is based at the Connaught Skating Club in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, B.C. “Overall, I think my focus for this season will be refinement and details, and improving the quality of what I can already do.”
Everything, of course, will be aimed at a repeat title when the 2025 Canadian Championships come to Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, next January. There will be added drama there because only one spot is available for Canadian men at 2025 Worlds in Boston (Chiu and Roman Sadovsky let the second spot slip away with their efforts in Montreal).
“It’ll be fun, it’ll be stressful for sure. From my perspective, it won’t be too different from last year. Just because last year we also had a few guys who were challenging for the top of the podium,” he said. “With one spot, it’ll be a similar challenge.”
As for the idea that Chiu is now the guy with the target on his back, he simply says “I guess that’s sort of an outside take on it. But mentally, I think I want to have more of a clean slate going into next season. Using the title as confidence, but not really holding back and competing as if I have nothing to lose … That’s pretty much the mindset.”
But that’s a thought for another day. On a Monday night in May, it was time for a more relaxing occasion. A chance to put on a show on the same Rogers Arena ice where the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks electrified a city with their exhilarating run through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“It was a cool experience,” said Chiu, who’s a big Canucks fan. “Stars On Ice is pretty popular even among regular people, like non-skating fans. As a kid, you sort of grow up watching Stars On Ice in Canada. That part of it was really cool, just seeing it as a kid and now getting to be a part of it. The whole cast was really welcoming, and it was just fun to be a part of that night.”