Patrick Chan responds to critics after second place finish

Canadian figure skater Patrick Chan hit back at critics who said he wilted under the pressure to win gold during a press conference Saturday.

“It’s very easy to watch from the outside and criticize. I do it all the time,” Chan told reporters. “I wish everyone could experience what it’s like to be on that ice by yourself and you feel lonely and it’s tough. It’s a tough challenge.”

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Chan, who could not land three of his jumps cleanly in the free skate program, finished in second place to Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu. Chan arrived in Sochi with expectations of becoming Canada’s first-ever Olympic men’s champion, and called the criticism levelled against him and his fellow figure skaters unfair.

“It’s very easy to say words, to blast someone or to say that, you know, they’re a choker or whatever. It’s very easy to do that. But I don’t think it’s fair to do that to us.”

Chan missed out on a medal four years ago in front of his home crowd in Vancouver, and admitted he was disappointed not winning gold this time, but said he was still happy with silvers in the team and singles competition at Sochi.

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“I’m still really happy with the silver medal. Not only one silver medal, but two. I’m the only male skater to have ever left the Olympic Games with two medals. So that’s really special to say I have achieved,” he said.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to look that far ahead…It’s going to be tough to go to Pyeongchang and kind of start a new journey. I don’t know. Figure skating is a tough, tough sport,” he said. “Sports is in me for the rest of my life, though. I have that competitive drive, so who knows if I’ll be competitive in something else or figure skating again. We’ll see.”