Two small errors in his free skate likely cost Patrick Chan a goldmedal Thursday night at the world figure skating championships in LosAngeles.
4 o6 z! N2 T y; O j) P( }2 V, Stvb now,tvbnow,bttvbToronto's Chan finished second behind American Evan Lysacek and just ahead of France's Brian Joubert, who took home the bronze.
4 n+ K, `1 G! |5 R, ]8 m" J6 ^公仔箱論壇Chan's silver marks the second year in a row Canada has medalled inthe men's event. Jeffrey Buttle of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., won goldlast year.www2.tvboxnow.com6 a8 k6 ~3 L6 C& W) a- T$ _
"Jeez, I thought I was just going to walk home with a bronze, but towin a silver medal is just like icing on the cake," Chan said afterwatching Joubert fall twice during his free skate.
5 `- ?. h! F& ^1 k( }0 Z"Getting off the ice, I had a huge smile on my face because I justdidn't expect to be where I am now after just my second worlds, and I'monly 18. It's a big shock. It's going to be weird going back to highschool, because I have to be a regular guy again."公仔箱論壇5 }8 `- H8 N( U6 S2 o, U
Small mistakes proved costly Skatingto music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Chan made two errors in his free-skateprogram, turning a planned double toe loop into a single, and doublinga planned triple loop. The mistakes only cost him about four points inhis score, but with the top three skaters so tightly bunched, there wasno room for error.www2.tvboxnow.com. { N, g' G" S' u' d/ Y0 a
Chan was third after the short program, in which many people feltthe judges short-changed the Canadian in his marks. However, there wereno surprised looks or jeers from the crowd about his marks in the freeskate.
$ K. R9 t% N) R- L$ B* vwww2.tvboxnow.comLysacek turned in the skate of his life for the gold, scoring 159.53 for his long routine, 4½ points ahead of Chan's 155.03.
1 @3 q1 u( f) U2 w( q"I've been looking forward to this event for the last few years,ever since I found out it was coming to the Staples Center," Lysaceksaid. "I think that nervous energy was a positive for me, because Iturned it into adrenalin."www2.tvboxnow.com! }* z* A% f! [8 }% T/ y
Chan was ninth in his world championship debut last year in Sweden,but with Buttle's retirement and Chan's spectacular season heading intoL.A., the young skater found himself a favourite.
4 t) r% x" T. UHe opened the season with a pair of Grand Prix victories, won theCanadian championships and then dominated a strong field to win the ISUFour Continents event last year in Vancouver.# M5 r; u& D9 @# }
This week, Chan found himself in the spotlight off-ice, when Joubertcriticized all the male skaters who don't have a quad jump in theirrepertoire. |