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.5.39.217.76# N7 D* r- }7 _) W5 `, h! ~
Toronto's Chan finished second behind American Evan Lysacek and just ahead of France's Brian Joubert, who took home the bronze.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 N5 i9 r7 o  k4 S0 ?: A8 ]' @
Chan'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- ^0 E) X, _
"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.
6 m; E  E& s1 I0 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."
9 a: J' n5 C0 @! }' C3 Ztvb 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.
* Y% M# Q3 y: s1 }0 \$ Dtvb 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.7 Q/ q8 ]# z* w( T& t( s
Lysacek 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.
- L: c3 @- c* Q6 ?2 A"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."
# G8 n: a, f" S9 `# `( \$ Itvb 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.. Z- z: n, g) d6 M
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.+ \+ B, Z7 ]+ |) e0 L& O
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.