Canadian defender Jocelyne Larocque wasn’t happy with her silver medal in women’s hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
She pulled it off her neck immediately after it was put on by an official and held it in her left hand. She kept it off while shaking hands with U.S. players after the game.
“It was just hard,” said Larocque, who was part of the team that won gold in Sochi.
“I mean we were going for gold, we were chasing that gold medal.”
Canada lost the gold medal game to the United States 3-2 after a shootout.
Some people watching found Larocque’s gesture to be unsportsmanlike and took to social media to express their displeasure.
But some were more sympathetic.
Several members of Team Canada wept on the ice as they received their medals. Others ducked their heads, stone-faced, as their medal was slipped on.
The fact that the game was decided by a shootout was hard on some players.
“That is how it works but in my honest opinion a game like that should never be decided by a shootout,” said Blayre Turnbull.
“We did not come here for a silver medal and everyone can imagine what losing feels like. It is not a great feeling at all.”
WATCH: Canada settles for silver after OT loss to U.S. in women’s hockey
Forward Brianne Jenner noted that her team would probably feel differently about whether there should have been a shootout, had Canada won it.
“We wouldn’t be saying that if we were the ones that won,” she said.
“We prepared a lot for the shootout. We felt confident going in. That’s why you watch the Olympics for those exciting moments and unfortunately we were on the wrong end of it.”
–With files from the Canadian Press and Reuters