Wesley Chiu sure knows how to make an exit as a Novice level competitive skater.
The Connaught Skating Club standout captured the Novice Men鈥檚 gold medal on Tuesday at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Saint John, New Burnswick.听
Given Chiu won last month鈥檚 Skate Challenge Canada qualifier event in Edmonton, his position on top of the podium was hardly a surprise yet it was the margin of victory in the field of 18 skaters that impressed many.
The Grade 8 Richmond Christian student finished nearly 30 points ahead of another BC skater 鈥� Shuma Mugii 鈥� with a career best 146.83 total. That鈥檚 12 points better than his winning score in Edmonton (134.43) which also was a personal best.
鈥淚t feels great. This is a big reliever for me,鈥� said Chiu. 鈥淭he whole year I have been thinking about this competition. Not (by that wide of margin) but I really wanted to win.鈥�
Chiu鈥檚 two-year run at Novice began with a bronze at 2018 Skate Canada Challenge in Quebec thanks to a terrific free skate that vaulted him eight spots in the final standings. He finished ninth in his Nationals debut in 麻豆传媒映画a year ago.
His potential earned him the opportunity to skate internationally for Canada and he earned bronze last July at a competition in Wisconsin. The momentum and plenty of hard work carried him into this season where a gold at BC/Yukon Sectionals was followed by two more in the national events. Now he is ready to take his promising career to the Junior Men鈥檚 level next season.
鈥淗e works very hard,鈥� said Connaught competitive head coach Keegan Murphy who joined his prize student in New Brunswick. 鈥淗e is really enjoyable to coach and this is going to give him a lot of confidence for the future.鈥�
