World silver medalist Chan splits from coach

Canada's 2009 World silver medalist Patrick Chan's Olympic medal hopes may now be in jeopardy.

Chan and former coach Don Laws announced today that they have gone their separate ways, and their split seems anything but amicable.

"I will say that he did not run from me," Laws said. "I ran from him."

Ouch.

This is another bump in the road in what has been a shaky season so far for Chan. After placing 2nd at the World Championships last March, he sustained a leg injury over the summer and was forced to withdraw from his first Grand Prix event. He was well enough to compete at Skate Canada two months ago, but fell three times in his free skate and wound up a distant 6th overall.

Chan has been training in Colorado Springs since the conclusion of Skate Canada in November. He is now being coached by Christy Krall and his longtime choreographer Lori Nichol.

There is clearly more to this story. It's obvious that Chan, who has proven to be headstrong and very opinionated in the past (i.e., his comments regarding Brian Joubert at last year's Worlds), was not agreeing with Laws' decisions regarding either training or preparation for the Olympics, now just one month away.

It can be risky to change coaches at the start of an Olympic season, but doing so this close to the Games is downright scary. Chan will already have the expectations of the home nation on his shoulders next month, and this latest move could prove to be too much to deal with.