Patrick Chan wins silver at worlds

carwing

Two small errors in his free skate likely cost Patrick Chan a goldmedal Thursday night at the world figure skating championships in LosAngeles.
% s$ a0 c1 Y* o+ S' G5 X$ |Toronto's Chan finished second behind American Evan Lysacek and just ahead of France's Brian Joubert, who took home the bronze.
& G& k" K* r/ S  b, L6 E' g0 |5 P5.39.217.76Chan'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.( J& U  y; [, t$ e# L; Z
"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.
) O6 i/ Q; J! |3 ~# q+ R6 g- w) U"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."
4 b3 v4 L' v5 K# h5 Qtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 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.
% q: n+ z  i- d8 o- ?7 `公仔箱論壇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.
7 {: L1 E. ^* K3 m1 ^" @* v5.39.217.76Lysacek 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.公仔箱論壇- @7 j/ z- s& Y& w9 S2 {# 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."! u: P. Y9 M1 L0 t7 N. I
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.
8 i5 w" L& s. c0 Q7 p$ N公仔箱論壇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.
/ W( f  e  c, ^% M. `5.39.217.76This week, Chan found himself in the spotlight off-ice, when Joubertcriticized all the male skaters who don't have a quad jump in theirrepertoire.