In the moment after a disappointing loss, Canada’s Jocelyne Larocque wanted no part of a silver medal.
Canada and the United States have a good rivalry in women’s hockey, which Canada has gotten the better of in recent Olympics. But Team USA’s women beat Canada in a shootout on Thursday in Pyeongchang, to win their first gold medal since 1998.
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored the winning goal for the United States, then goalie Maddie Rooney stifled Canada’s last two shooters to clinch the victory.
The Canadians were stunned by the loss, with some showing great emotion on the bench while the Americans celebrated on the ice. Hockey is one Winter Olympics sport where the silver medal comes with a loss, and it can feel like a consolation prize.
Things settled down for the medal ceremony, with Finland getting their bronze medals first. Then Canada’s players were awarded their silvers one by one, and Jocelyne Larocque came up in line. The sting of the loss had not worn off, and she clearly wasn’t ready to acknowledge finishing second.
Twitter was mostly unkind to Larocque, as expected, with some sentiment of understanding mixed in.
Larocque was on Canada’s gold medal-winning team in Sochi four years ago, so disappointment is understandable after a sudden loss. But being gracious in defeat is part of sportsmanship, and by connection the Olympic spirit. Eventually, Larocque was ordered to wear her silver medal for “legal reasons” by an IIHF official.
Larocque acknowledged lingering disappointment when talking to the media, while also suggesting time will allow a silver medal to be seen as a good consolation.
“Just hard,” she said. “We were going for gold.”
“I mean, yeah,” she said. “Once we reflect. But now, not at the moment.”
Social media invites instant reaction to everything, and even in the early morning hours in the United States, Larocque’s immediate removal of her medal incited the masses. Better awareness of time and place might have been nice, but most of us would have wanted to do exactly what Larocque did.