Two small errors in his free skate likely cost Patrick Chan a goldmedal Thursday night at the world figure skating championships in LosAngeles.
! {2 W0 J: F; T4 j4 U+ l0 ~Toronto's Chan finished second behind American Evan Lysacek and just ahead of France's Brian Joubert, who took home the bronze.
9 Z2 x0 A) m/ ^) wChan'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.tvboxnow.com1 {! \, A) I( ~) j$ B
"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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 d9 |" U- {; e% t0 V
"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."
c: m) w4 V) e3 c, n 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.
" a$ Z/ K4 y( j$ ctvb now,tvbnow,bttvbChan 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.
5 u! Q, q. l8 K5 P/ _4 s- Ctvboxnow.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.
# m& X6 V/ ?- z8 U0 F0 @: g"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."
5 @0 p5 Q$ C6 }1 utvb now,tvbnow,bttvbChan 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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. x k- q1 h5 Q* ^# F
He 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.) |/ ^. l" x$ {( B% n+ ~6 B
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. |
發表於 2009-3-27 08:29 PM
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