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Wesley Chiu

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Wesley Chiu
Wesley Chiu at the 2023 Skate Canada International
Born (2005-03-20) March 20, 2005 (age 19)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
HometownRichmond, British Columbia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Figure skating career
Country Canada
DisciplineMen's singles
CoachKeegan Murphy
Eileen Murphy
Skating clubConnaught Skating Club
Began skating2009
Medal record
Canadian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Calgary Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Ottawa Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Oshawa Singles
Wesley Chiu
Traditional Chinese趙崇諾[1]
Simplified Chinese赵崇诺
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhào Chóngnuò
IPA[ʈʂâʊ ʈʂʰʊ̌ŋnwô]
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingJiu6 Sung4 Nok6

Wesley Chiu (born March 20, 2005) is a Canadian figure skater. He is the 2024 Canadian champion and a two-time national bronze medallist (2022–23). He placed fourth at the 2022 World Junior Championships and won two medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix, including gold at the 2021 JGP France II.

Career

[edit]

Early years

[edit]

Chiu began learning to skate in 2009. In his early years in competitive skating at the national level, he was the 2017 Skate Canada Challenge silver medallist at the pre-novice level. Debuting as a novice the following season, he was the bronze medallist at the 2018 Skate Canada Challenge and finished ninth at the 2018 Canadian Novice Championships. In the 2018–19 season, he won gold at both Skate Canada Challenge and the 2019 Canadian Novice Championships and made his international debut at the advanced novice level by winning the Bavarian Open.[2]

2019–20 season: Junior international debut

[edit]

After his novice results, Chiu was selected to make his Junior Grand Prix debut at the 2019 JGP Italy in Egna-Neumarkt. He finished thirteenth. Returning to the domestic scene, he won the silver medal at both Skate Canada Challenge and the 2020 Canadian Junior Championships.[2]

2020–21 season

[edit]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Junior Grand Prix and the rest of the international junior season were cancelled. Chiu competed only domestically, winning bronze at the junior level at a virtually-held Skate Canada Challenge.[3] This would have qualified him to the 2021 Canadian Championships, but these were cancelled due to the pandemic.[4]

2021–22 season: First JGP and national medals

[edit]

Chiu returned to international competition with the resumption of the Junior Grand Prix, competing at the second installment of the French JGP in Courchevel. Due to pandemic restrictions, skaters from Russia could not attend the event.[5] Chiu won the short program by a wide margin but struggled in the free skate, remaining narrowly in first overall and taking the gold medal. Speaking afterwards, he said that the short program result caused "a lot of excitement", as a result of which in "the long program, I feel like I struggled a bit in the beginning, but I was able to push that aside and really finish the program strong."[6] At his second assignment, the 2021 JGP Russia in Krasnoyarsk, he won the bronze medal. He was one of only two non-Russian competitors to podium at the event in any discipline.[7] He landed a quad toe loop in international competition for the first time, calling it "another great milestone I've achieved."[8] Chiu's gold medal qualified him for the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final, intended to be held in Osaka, but it was cancelled due to restrictions prompted by the Omicron variant.[9]

Following the end of the Junior Grand Prix, Chiu was sent to make his international senior debut at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup. Only eleventh in the short program after missing his jump combination, he rallied in the free skate, skating cleanly and landing two quads in a program for the first time. He set a new personal best and won that segment of the competition, finishing fourth overall, ten points behind bronze medallist Petr Gumennik.[10]

Chiu next competed at the 2022 Canadian Championships in Ottawa, hoping to qualify for one of the two men's berths on the Canadian team for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Not initially considered among the top contenders, he finished a surprise second in the short program. He was only fifth in the free skate after singling a planned triple Axel but narrowly finished third overall, 0.54 points ahead of Joseph Phan. Wearing his first senior national medal, Chiu said his season was "like a rocket ship because it kept going higher and higher and kept getting better."[11] He was named the first alternate for the Olympic team and assigned to attend the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, which would have been his ISU championship debut. However, he had to withdraw from Four Continents due to his coach testing positive for COVID-19.[12] Chiu's status as the first alternate for the Olympics briefly came into play when national champion Keegan Messing was initially unable to travel to Beijing due to positive COVID tests, as a result of which Chiu was standing by to depart in his stead. However, Messing was ultimately able to leave in time.[13][14]

Chiu was assigned to finish his season at the 2022 World Junior Championships, held in mid-April rather than the traditional early March to accommodate a last-minute move from Sofia to Tallinn.[15] Due to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, all Russian and Belarusian skaters were banned by the ISU.[16] In the short program, Chiu skated cleanly but for an edge call on his triple flip, receiving a new personal best score of 81.59. He finished second in the segment, 0.33 points ahead of Estonia's Mihhail Selevko and 7.40 points behind leader Ilia Malinin of the USA, winning a silver small medal.[17] Errors in the free skate dropped him to fourth place overall, 5 points behind bronze medallist Tatsuya Tsuboi.[18]

2022–23 season

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Beginning the season on the Challenger circuit, Chiu finished in tenth place at the 2022 CS U.S. Classic.[19] He then made his senior Grand Prix debut at the 2022 Skate America, alongside American training partner Liam Kapeikis. Chiu said he was eager to participate in events with larger audiences.[20] He finished sixth at the event, 0.40 points and one placement ahead of his friend Kapeikis.[21] He was tenth at the 2022 Grand Prix de France.[2]

Chiu won the silver medal at the 2022–23 Skate Canada Challenge, qualifying to the 2023 Canadian Championships.[22] At the national championships, he had a poor short program, finishing eleventh in that segment. He was third in the free skate, rising to third overall and his second consecutive national bronze medal. Chiu related afterwards that he had been sick in advance of the championships, but had persevered through it.[23] He was assigned to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships.[24]

At the World Junior Championships on home ice in Calgary, Chiu had a bad land on the first part of his planned jump combination, but was still able to complete it. He finished second in the segment for the second consecutive year, coming five points behind Japan's Kao Miura and taking another silver small medal.[25] In the free skate, Chiu doubled both of his attempts at quad toe loop, coming eighth in the segment and dropping to fifth overall. Chiu said that he hoped to compete both at the junior and senior levels the following season, and indicated that he was developing a quad Lutz that was "going well."[26]

2023–24 season

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Chiu began the season by winning the silver medal at the 2023 Cranberry Cup International behind Mark Gorodnitsky of Israel.[2] He finished third in the short program at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International, but dropped to seventh after struggling in the free skate.[27] In his second season on the Grand Prix, Chiu finished seventh at the 2023 Skate Canada International, the highest placement of the three Canadian men in attendance.[28] Subsequently added to the 2023 NHK Trophy, he came eleventh at the event, acknowledging "some big, costly mistakes."[29]

Chiu finishing his free skate at the 2024 World Championships

In the short program at the 2024 Canadian Championships, Chiu successfully landed his quad-triple combination and triple Lutz, though his triple Axel was only landed with difficulty. His 88.98 score led the segment by a wide margin. Despite problems in the free skate where he failed to land a clean quad or triple Axel, he remained in first place overall and won his first national title.[30] On his victory, Chiu said "I can skate with more pride now. It also comes with responsibility. Really motivating to go back and train hard."[31]

Skate Canada initially declined to name its team for the 2024 World Championships, pending the results of the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai, which Chiu attended alongside Conrad Orzel and Roman Sadovsky. He set new personal bests in the short program (83.50) and total score (240.38), and finished seventh overall, the highest placement among the Canadians. Chiu called the experience of his first senior ISU championship ""something you can't truly replicate in training," saying it was "truly eye-opening to skate alongside such incredible athletes."[32] Afterward, he and Sadovsky were assigned to the two Canadian berths at the World Championships, being held on home ice in Montreal.[33]

Chiu finished seventeenth in his World Championship debut. Despite errors, he said he felt he had learned a lot from the experience, explaining that "skating at home, in a sold-out arena isn't something you can really replicate in training."[34]

2024–25 season

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Chiu began the season with a fourteenth-place finish at the 2024 Nebelhorn Trophy. He then went on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, finishing ninth at the 2024 Skate America.[2] Although Chiu had also been assigned to compete at the 2024 Cup of China, he suffered a bad fall in practice the day before the men's short program, where he injured his ankle. He ultimately withdrew shortly before the event.[35][36]

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2024–2025
[37][38][39]
2023–2024
[40][41]
2022–2023
[42]
2021–2022
[43]
2019–2020
[44]

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [45]
Season 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
World Championships 17th
Four Continents Championships 7th
Canadian Championships 3rd 3rd 1st
GP France 10th
GP NHK Trophy 11th
GP Skate America 6th 9th
GP Skate Canada 7th
CS Autumn Classic 7th
CS Nebelhorn Trophy 14th
CS U.S. Classic 10th
CS Warsaw Cup 4th
Cranberry Cup 2nd
Skate Canada Challenge 2nd
Competition placements at junior level [45]
Season 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
World Junior Championships 4th 5th
Canadian Championships 2nd C
JGP France 1st
JGP Italy 13th
JGP Russia 3rd
Bavarian Open 1st
Skate Canada Challenge 2nd 3rd

Detailed results

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ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [45]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 240.38 2024 Four Continents Championships
Short program TSS 83.50 2024 Four Continents Championships
TES 46.03 2024 Four Continents Championships
PCS 38.36 2023 World Junior Championships
Free skating TSS 162.24 2021 CS Warsaw Cup
TES 85.94 2021 CS Warsaw Cup
PCS 76.35 2024 Four Continents Championships
  • Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.

Senior level

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Results in the 2021–22 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 17–20, 2021 Poland 2021 CS Warsaw Cup 11 70.15 1 162.24 4 232.39
Jan 6–12, 2022 Canada 2022 Canadian Championships 2 81.47 5 150.57 3 232.04
Results in the 2022–23 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 12–16, 2022 United States 2022 CS U.S. International Classic 10 55.14 9 116.55 10 171.69
Oct 21–23, 2022 United States 2022 Skate America 9 71.58 6 148.32 6 219.90
Nov 4–6, 2022 France 2022 Grand Prix de France 11 67.95 10 142.00 10 209.95
Jan 9–15, 2023 Canada 2023 Canadian Championships 11 65.44 3 160.71 3 226.15
Results in the 2023–24 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 9–13, 2023 United States 2023 Cranberry Cup International 5 72.33 1 158.19 2 230.52
Sep 14–17, 2023 Canada 2023 CS Autumn Classic International 3 80.93 8 127.89 7 208.82
Oct 27–29, 2023 Canada 2023 Skate Canada International 7 76.40 8 144.60 7 208.82
Nov 24–26, 2023 Japan 2023 NHK Trophy 11 72.02 10 137.14 11 209.16
Jan 8–14, 2024 Canada 2024 Canadian Championships 1 88.98 3 143.17 1 232.15
Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 China 2024 Four Continents Championships 6 83.50 7 156.88 7 240.38
Mar 18–24, 2024 Canada 2024 World Championships 18 78.00 16 149.21 17 227.21
Results in the 2024–25 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 18-21, 2024 Germany 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 6 73.46 16 116.31 14 189.77
Oct 18–20, 2024 United States 2024 Skate America 10 66.86 9 140.08 9 206.94

Junior level

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Results in the 2019–20 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 2–5, 2019 Italy 2019 JGP Italy 14 55.51 13 111.78 13 167.29
Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2019 Canada 2020 Skate Canada Challenge 5 59.11 1 120.53 2 179.64
Jan 13–19, 2020 Canada 2020 Canadian Championships (Junior) 1 76.12 4 122.32 2 198.44
Results in the 2020–21 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Jan 8–17, 2021 Canada 2021 Skate Canada Challenge 5 57.47 2 121.83 3 179.30
Results in the 2021–22 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 25–28, 2021 France 2021 JGP France II 1 76.26 2 123.63 1 199.89
Sep 15–18, 2021 Russia 2021 JGP Russia 4 76.63 3 140.96 3 217.59
Apr 13–17, 2022 Estonia 2022 World Junior Championships 2 81.59 4 146.70 4 228.29
Results in the 2022–23 season [45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 Canada 2023 World Junior Championships 2 80.56 8 133.32 5 213.88

References

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  1. ^ "不怕跌倒 列治文華裔溜冰王子奪全國錦標賽冠軍". 加拿大星島日報. January 14, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Wesley Chiu: Competitive Results". International Skating Union.
  3. ^ "2021 Skate Canada Challenge – Results". Skate Canada.
  4. ^ Ewing, Lori (January 16, 2021). "Madeline Schizas moves up 3 spots to win virtual Skate Canada Challenge". CBC Sports.
  5. ^ "Russian junior skaters out of French events". International Figure Skating. 10 August 2021.
  6. ^ "USA and Canada strike gold as ISU Junior Grand Prix continues in Courchevel". International Skating Union. August 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "Russia dominates ISU Junior Grand Prix on home ice". International Skating Union. September 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "Canada's Wesley Chiu lands first international event quad, wins bronze medal at ISU Junior Grand Prix". Skate Canada. September 17, 2021.
  9. ^ "Figure skating Grand Prix Final cancelled over travel rules". CBC Sports. December 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "Wesley Chiu wins free skate, nears podium in personal best performance at Warsaw Cup". Skate Canada. November 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Flett, Ted (January 9, 2022). "Messing finally triumphant!". Golden Skate.
  12. ^ Anything GOEs [@anythinggoe] (January 19, 2022). "🇨🇦 We have received notification from Skate Canada that Wesley Chiu withdrew from #4ContsFigure due to a member of his coaching team testing positive for coronavirus" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Jacqueline Doorey [@jackydoorey] (February 3, 2022). "The alternate is Wesley Chiu - 16 years old from Richmond, B.C. They've been quiet on when they'd make that decision - From what I understand the hope is to keep testing Keegan until the last minute, then they'll get either him or Chiu on a plane" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Ewing, Lori (February 6, 2022). "Canadian figure skater Keegan Messing finally touches down in Beijing". CBC Sports.
  15. ^ "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022 allotted to Tallinn (EST)". International Skating Union. March 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "ISU Statement on the Ukrainian crisis – Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus". International Skating Union. March 1, 2022.
  17. ^ Slater, Paula (April 14, 2022). "USA's Ilia Malinin sets record at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  18. ^ Slater, Paula (April 16, 2022). "USA's Ilia Malinin takes gold in Tallinn". Golden Skate.
  19. ^ "Canadians Lauriault and Le Gac edged for bronze at US International Figure Skating Classic". Skate Canada. September 16, 2022.
  20. ^ Leung, Valerie (October 19, 2022). "Richmond skaters vying for podium spot at U.S. skating competition". Richmond News.
  21. ^ "Canada opens ISU Grand Prix season with two medals in pairs". Skate Canada. October 23, 2022.
  22. ^ "Men, pairs and ice dance titles awarded at 2022–23 Skate Canada Challenge". Skate Canada. December 2, 2022.
  23. ^ Flett, Ted (January 15, 2023). "Messing defends title in last appearance at nationals". Golden Skate.
  24. ^ "Skate Canada names teams for 2023 ISU championships". Skate Canada. January 15, 2023.
  25. ^ "Kao Miura (JPN) wins Men's Short Program at ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships". International Skating Union. March 3, 2023.
  26. ^ Slater, Paula (March 5, 2023). "Japan's Kao Miura takes World Junior title". Golden Skate.
  27. ^ "Bronze for Gogolev to close out Autumn Classic International". Skate Canada. September 16, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  28. ^ "Gold for Canadian pair and ice dance team at Skate Canada International". Skate Canada. October 29, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  29. ^ "ISU Grand Prix series wraps up at NHK Trophy in Japan". Skate Canada. November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  30. ^ Flett, Ted (January 15, 2024). "Wesley Chiu rises to the occasion Calgary". Golden Skate. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  31. ^ Spencer, Donna (January 13, 2024). "Ruiter halts Schizas's 3-peat bid in women's program at Canadian figure skating championships". CBC Sports. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  32. ^ Slater, Paula (February 3, 2024). "Kagiyama wins first Four Continents title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  33. ^ "Fifteen Canadian athletes to compete on home soil at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships". Skate Canada. February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  34. ^ "Gilles and Poirier skate to silver at 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Malinin of the USA sets new world record". Skate Canada. March 23, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  35. ^ "Wesley Chiu 🇨🇦 withdrew from the competition due to the injury". X. Golden Skate. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  36. ^ "Men Short Program - Cup of China 2024". YouTube. International Skating Union. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  37. ^ "Wesley Chiu: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024.
  38. ^ Chiu, Wesley. "2024/2025 SP". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  39. ^ Chiu, Wesley. "FP 2024/2025". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  40. ^ "Wesley Chiu: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023.
  41. ^ Mok, Yebin. "Choreo Days with Wesley Chiu". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  42. ^ "Wesley Chiu: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022.
  43. ^ "Wesley Chiu: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021.
  44. ^ "Wesley Chiu: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019.
  45. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "CAN–Wesley Chiu". SkatingScores.
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