Biography

Whether he is flying through quadruple jumps or cycling the 10-km seawall loop around Stanley Park in his native Vancouver, Wesley Chiu craves the feeling of dashing through space, the wind in his hair.

“I guess you could say, I like doing things that get my legs moving,” he says, laughing.

Canada’s new leading man is the latest in a long line of champions, names that include Orser, Browning, Stojko, Buttle, Chan. The 19-year-old Langara College student knows it will take sweat and tears to join that elite company, but it’s work he is eager to tackle.

“I'm not at the level of those amazing skaters yet,” Chiu says. “I’m still developing and finding my style and, hopefully, the fans.” 

His ascension to the Canadian crown may have taken some by surprise but skating insiders have long tagged Chiu as a future great. At just 15 years old, he won gold on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, followed by two consecutive bronze medals at the Canadian Championships. A combination of technical prowess and artistic presentation – especially in his romantic “Romeo & Juliet” program – powered him to the 2024 Canadian title.

A few weeks later, Chiu skated his best programs ever at his first senior ISU championships, 2024 Four Continents, where he finished as the top North American man.

“Having ‘Canadian champion’ on my back, definitely I can skate with more pride now, but it also comes with responsibility,” he said, adding, “Winning Canadians was motivating and encouraging. I think the added pressure just really helped me. It pushed me to really skate well.”

Chiu took to the ice at age four via CanSkate, Canada’s nationwide learn-to-skate program. For several years, he juggled figure skating and tennis as his primary sports before his love of the ice won out. He still enjoys the outdoors, making use of Vancouver’s plentiful bike trails and hiking at Grouse Mountain each summer.

A 2023 graduate of Magee Secondary School, he enrolled part-time in college, focusing on kinesiology courses with an eye toward a possible future career in physical therapy.

“It’s definitely interesting, and it could also help my skating, as an athlete getting to know my body better,” he says.

As a true student of the game, Chiu pledges to try many styles in both his competitive and show programs and takes dance classes several times a week to help make it happen. While he naturally gravitates to classical music and a lyrical on-ice style, he recognizes versatility as the key to a long, successful career.

“I think Nathan Chen is definitely a great example of that, the way he is able to really have variety in his skating,” Chiu says. “I know he did a lot of ballet early on, and especially later in his career, he added a hip-hop style to his skating that’s really cool to watch and something fans really connect with.”

Chiu and his coaching team are also focused on upping the technical ante of his programs. The skater’s Instagram (@wesleychiu_) charts his progress with quads, including the challenging quad lutz, a jump he plans to add to his programs soon. His eye is firmly trained on representing Canada at the 2026 Olympics in Italy. For that goal, he recently received some advice from one of his idols.

“Patrick Chan is in Vancouver now, so he’s been to our rink and talked to me about his experiences,” Chiu says. “He told me to stay present in the moment and enjoy every experience, and that will really help to put things in perspective. A certain competition may mean everything to you at the time, but it’s a small part of your overall career.”

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