Patrick Chan retires from figure skating

What has helped with his transition is the presence of his girlfriend Elizabeth Putnam, with whom he lives in Vancouver. A two-time national bronze medalist in pairs with Sean Wirtz, Putnam performed on cruise ships for a number of years following her retirement from competitive skating. She now works as a choreographer in the Vancouver area.



“I retired at a relatively normal age in terms of skating. I’m not saying it has been an easy transition,” Chan admitted. “I find myself having moments, especially when I’m watching something like the World Championships on TV to see what the next generation is doing. It does rekindle that competitive fire a little bit. But then, seeing what they’re doing now, reality kicks in and I realize it wouldn’t work in this lifetime for me to compete again.”



While Chan still skates two or three days a week — he ramped that up to four days at times prior to the Canadian Stars On Ice (SOI) tour — he admits he really does enjoy the days when he does not have to skate. “Sometimes when Liz has to go to the rink, I’ll tag along. It’s kind of funny how my appreciation for skating has changed,” Chan said. “Liz and I created one of my show numbers for Stars together. There were days when we went to the rink at 10 p.m. and skated, and it was kind of nice to have quiet, private ice and be creative. Working together was a lot of fun. It was a really good learning experience for me.”



Originally, he intended to continue as a show skater until at least 2022, but a ski accident he suffered in Vail, Colorado, in December has given him pause to re-evaluate that plan. Chan tore the medial collateral and posterior collateral ligaments in his left knee, which kept him off the ice until the end of February.

Though he is currently managing the injury through physiotherapy, Chan knows that for his long-term health, surgery is quite likely down the road. Following his return home from the ski trip, he sought opinions from surgeons in Toronto and Vancouver. “There’s just a lot of instability in the knee. The range of motion is more than it should be in certain situations but because I had two tours booked they said surgery was maybe not the best option,” Chan explained. “It’s a complex surgery — they said it’s about six-hours — and then a nine-month recovery period.”