Maryam had the chance to chat with Wesley Chiu, 2024 Canadian National Champion, about his skating journey, his comeback post-injury, as well as his current interests. He just finished competing at the 2026 Canadian National Championships where he finished in 4th place with a score of 241.48. He has been assigned a spot to compete at the Four Continents Championships as his last international assignment of the season!
Interview, editing, and action shots by Maryam! Special thank you to Niamh for coming up with the questions.
This interview is also available in a podcast format. You can listen to it on Spotify! Or if you prefer Youtube, it is available on our Youtube channel as well!
Maryam: So, good to see you. I wanted to ask how you got into skating. Can you talk about the CanSkate program? You started skating pretty young at four or five years old. Do you have any advice for young people getting into skating, especially at a year where there might be increased attention and a lot of parents and/or children find themselves wanting to get into the sport?
Wesley: I started skating when I was four, like you said. I was trying every different sport. I was really athletic as a kid. I really liked just moving around. And I think I had a lot of energy. And naturally, as a Canadian, I was put on the ice — just at my local rink at the Richmond Olympic Oval. That’s where I train now, and also where I took my first few steps. I started with their learn-to-skate program, then moved on quickly to the CanSkate program with Skate Canada. That's really when I started to enjoy just being on the ice. I didn't really know much about figure skating at that point. I just knew I wanted to continue this. One of the coaches at my rink back then suggested that I try figure skating. I went into their junior academy program, which is the next step after CanSkate — that's where I started to learn how to spin and jump. And I really enjoyed it.
I think in some countries, parents throw their kids into the water to learn how to swim. And Canadians, they throw their kids onto the ice.
I definitely did swimming as well. I actually played tennis for a while, alongside skating.
Were there any other sports that piqued your interest, such that if you weren't skating, you'd be interested in doing?
Wesley: I think tennis was the biggest one. It was the one that I did for the longest alongside skating, but eventually I had to pick one.
I saw that you have a lot of interest in hiking and cycling as well. Do you have any trails you recommend on the West Coast?
I live in Vancouver, so hiking is very accessible. One of the hikes I did a couple of years ago was called the Panorama Ridge.
I've been wanting to do that one! I hiked up to Garibaldi Lake, so, half of it.
That's also nice as well.
Did you do it as a day hike or did you end up camping?
Once I went to Garibaldi, and then another time all the way up to the top. It's an insane hike. I definitely recommend you do a warm-up first.
Start extremely early.
I started at 7 a.m., and it took nine hours, I would say. The view was totally worth it.
You had a really good short program here with a personal best. You had a lot of fire and you attacked so many elements. You had a good fight in the free as well. How did it feel being back in front of a home crowd?
It felt amazing. It was something that I've been dreaming about for about a year with the injury. It's definitely nice. The energy here is on a different level, I would say. It just feels good to skate in front of a crowd again, feel the energy. They really help me push through even day-to-day training. I feel motivated.
Your skating club seems very supportive. How is that environment like for you to train in? One of the rinks that your club uses was built for the Vancouver Olympics. Does that ever motivate you?
I skate out of the Richmond Olympic Oval, which was coincidentally where I first started skating. So it's definitely nice. I've seen the rink evolve from back when it was a speed skating track, to the full venue it is now. It's definitely nice to skate under the Olympic rings every single day. I've been with the Connaught Skating Club for over a decade, so it feels like home. We're all just one big family. I've seen so many other skaters grow up, and I've grown up alongside them. It’s a very homey environment.
There are a lot of great coaches and former skaters involved with Connaught. How has that helped your progression in your career? Can you share any advice or support that they've shared with you that's helped you move forward, up to this point?
Having those amazing former skaters around the rink is nice. Being around them, being able to ask questions anytime I needed. Kirsten Moore-Towers is one of the coaches with our pair program at Connaught. Liz and Patrick also stop by from time to time. Having them so accessible in Vancouver is a great help. Being able to discuss my struggles and knowing what they've gone through, and to really just trust what they're saying. They know a lot more than I do, so it's really nice.
A lot of people say that figure skating is such a niche and elite sport; that there's very few people that go through exactly what you're going through.
Exactly. It's nice to have that sort of support environment at home.
You had a breakout season in 2023 and 2024 with your first national title, your first senior championship, making the final group at Four Continents, and a home Worlds. Then, you had your season cut short with injury. Can you speak about the ups and downs, and that juxtaposition in general? How does it feel like to be back?
Definitely a huge rollercoaster of emotions. The momentum really started in the Grand Prix series of 2023 with Skate Canada and NHK. That's where I really started to feel comfortable skating in front of big crowds. The crowds in Japan are huge and it’s an amazing place to skate in. That really inspired me and got me comfortable being in the midst of high-pressure environments. Everything kind of fell into place nicely at nationals, and I was able to continue that momentum leading into four continents and worlds. So many new experiences, great memories. I was definitely hoping to continue riding that wave going into this Olympic cycle. But unfortunately, things happen, and it's a sport. It is what it is.
You were out for quite a while. Did you have time to get into any other hobbies or learn any new skills?
The thing with injury and surgery is that you can't really do much. You're stuck in that rehab mode. It has been nice to reflect on my career up until this point — I could step back, re-evaluate where I was at in my career and ask myself questions. Like, why I was skating in the first place, and whether it was worth it to continue pushing forwards, especially being off for so long. The biggest thing for me coming back was the fans. Being able to skate in an environment like Canadian Nationals, hearing the roar of the crowd, I think that's something I didn't get to experience and I definitely missed for a long time.
Injury does place you in a different mental landscape. It does teach you some things.
It makes me more grateful for every opportunity that I get, because you never know what could happen.
You've been to a good number of Canucks games. Do you have any standout moments?
I'd have to say the year that they made the playoffs. It was after Worlds, and before Stars On Ice. That was crazy. The whole city was buzzing. I remember just going outside and seeing that all the cars had Canucks flags on them. Everyone, the whole city, was watching. I think Vancouver really loves their hockey, me included. I got a small mention on their stories while they were in the playoffs, so that was really exciting as well. It's been a long time since they've made the playoffs.
Similar energy to when the Blue Jays played the-
The Dodgers. So close.
They were so close to having a parade in Toronto. You mentioned Stars on Ice. Do you think that you'd be interested in doing show skating at some point?
Stars on Ice was a great opportunity. I will probably remember that for the rest of my life. I definitely hope to do more in the future. How that plays out is really not up to me.
Thinking forward, do you have any pieces of music that you'd like to skate to at some point?
Nothing too concrete. I have very, very rough ideas floating around. I have been so busy trying to prepare for this season with recovery that I haven't really thought about anything beyond this season. One of the artists that I really enjoy listening to is Jackson Wang. He's a Hong Kong singer, also doing K-pop. I really love his music. I would love to skate to one of his songs one day, maybe.
He's quite fun. Do you have a workout playlist, or a playlist that you use for when someone gives you the aux cord at the rink?
Yes, I do.
What does it mostly include? Do you have any specific genres that you like?
I really like 2010-era music, like pop, One Direction, old Justin Bieber. Those songs are really nostalgic, growing up and being born in 2005.
Always brings you back. I skate myself as well, and sometimes, in a rink session, I notice that whenever there is very high-energy music, people skate a bit more intensely. Do you ever feel like that's the case on a day-to-day session?
Yes, for sure. Especially when you're skating competitively and have been doing it for so long. It definitely gets dull sometimes. When we switch up the music — that's where the energy comes from.
Well, thank you very much for your time. Are you going to stick around tomorrow to watch any other events?
Wesley: Yes, I'll be around for the women's.
I hope you have fun. I hope you have time to rest.
Thank you!
Wesley is set to compete at the Four Continent Championships! You can follow Wesley and what he is up to on instagram!
