Canadian Hockey Player Jocelyne Larocque Apologizes for Taking off Silver Medal

Canada ice hockey star Jocelyne Larocque has issued an apology after she removed her silver medal following her team's loss to the United States in the Winter Olympics final.

The Canadians were left heartbroken after the defeat to their bitter rivals, as they lost in a shootout with the teams tied 2-2 after overtime. 

Following the game, Larocque was seen taking off her silver medal and has received some criticism for the action.

As shared by Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star, she has since explained her decision to do so:

Here's the moment in question, per the NBC Olympics Twitter account:

Per Martin Belam of the Guardian, some Twitter users said Larocque "embarrassed" herself by removing the medal after the presentation, although some leapt to her defence following the loss. Journalist Marc Dumont backed her following the criticism:

The general manager of Canada's national programs, Melody Davidson, said she understands why the hockey star did what she did.

"Emotions run high at the Olympic Games and never more so than in a gold-medal game, but at all times we expect our team to act professionally and demonstrate sound sportsmanship," she said.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

The incident triggered some memories of what happened after the recent final of the World Junior Championships in January, when another beaten hockey star wasn't content with silver.

In that match, Sweden's beaten captain Lias Andersson immediately took off his silver medal and tossed it into the crowd, as we can see here courtesy of HockeyWebCast's Robert Soderlind:

"

Team Sweden Captain Lias Andersson wasn't happy with the Silver as he threw it to the stands, the guy who caught the silver medal was wearing THREEE jerseys.  pic.twitter.com/iyPUT6C5Lc

— Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) January 6, 2018"

In other sports and competitions, the culture surrounding runners-up prizes is different, too. 

Indeed, in the 2017 soccer Under-21 UEFA European Championships, Spain player Hector Bellerin was mocked on social medai for keeping his silver medal on after their loss to Germany while other members of his team removed them immediately, per Glen Williams of the MailOnline.

The loss was a galling one for Canada, as they had won the last four Olympic golds prior to the 2018 Games. 

The United States earned their first gold in the event since 1998 after the thrilling win. Goalkeeper Maddie Rooney was the hero, as her save from Meghan Agosta clinched the title for Team USA.