Fernández Leads the Pack at Skate Canada by a Quad (Toe Loop)

Javier Fernández López is proving to be a quad star…

The 21-year-old Spanish figure skater stands atop the leader board at Skate Canada International after landing a textbook quad toe loop during his short program.

Javier Fernandez

Fernández – the first Spanish skater to win a Grand Prix medal when he won silver at last year’s Skate Canada International – leads the pack with a score of 85.87.

Canada’s Patrick Chan, last year’s winner and a two-time world champion, scored 82.52 points for his program choreographed by former world champion Jeff Buttle, and set to music by Rachmaninoff. Japan’s Nobunari Oda was third with 82.14.

Coached by Canadians Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson, Fernández’s Zorro-themed short program was choreographed by David Wilson.

Fernández will next perform his Charlie Chaplin-themed free skate on Sunday to see if he can pull off the upset and defeat Chan, who was third after a sloppy short program last year at Skate Canada before roaring back to win the title.

Fernández , who represented Spain at the 2010 Winter Olympics, is also the first Spaniard to medal at a Grand Prix Final when he won bronze in 2011.