Video: Patrick Chan won a silver medal on Friday. Although it’s a win, it follows a long trend of Canadian world champion men’s figure skaters not being able to capture the gold at the Olympics. Eric Sorensen reports.
Patrick Chan has won the silver medal in men’s figure skating in Sochi.
The 23-year-old faltered twice during jumps in his free skate program, putting his hand down to keep from falling. He stumbled on a third jump, as well. But that didn’t stop him from scoring 178.10 in the free skate, for a combined score of 275.62 in the event.
Chan’s major rival, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, took home the gold. He, too, fell while landing a jump early on in his program. Although he got high marks for the rest of his program, he was a bit wobbly on some landings. Still, he scored 178.64, just higher than Chan.
Hanyu, a 19-year-old who lives and trains in Toronto with coach Brian Orser, set a world short-program record the previous night of 101.45, making him the first man in history to break the 100-point barrier. His combined score from both skates was 280.09.
Hanyu skated just before Chan, giving the Canadian a chance to take the gold, but Chan’s less-than-perfect skate clinched the gold for Japan.
Denis Ten from Kazakhstan won bronze, with a combined score of 255.10.
WATCH: Patrick Chan addresses the disappointment of not winning gold, if he’ll be at the next Olympics, and the pressure to break Canada’s “curse”
But despite the medal win, Chan didn’t seem ready to celebrate.
“I’m disappointed, of course,” Chan told CBC in an interview shortly after the competition. “All Canadians say sorry, but I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself. I had that chance and I didn’t grasp it.
“I can’t thank Canada enough for the support I’ve had over the years.”
This is Chan’s second silver medal – he was part of the Canadian team event earlier in the Olympics. Medal success had eluded the young skater in Vancouver, although he went on to win three World Championships in a row.
MORE: Was Patrick Chan a victim of the Canadian curse?
With files from the Canadian Press
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Patrick Chan fell twice during his free skate routine. He did not fall but faltered in his attempt to execute two jumps. He recovered his balance and was not penalized for falling. We regret the error.
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