Canadian women’s hockey player Jocelyne Larocque removed her silver medal seconds after it was put around her neck on the podium during the medal ceremony following the Canadian team’s loss to the Americans Thursday in the Winter Olympics.
The win by the Americans followed four consecutive gold medal wins including four years ago in Soche, when Larocque also was on the Canadian team. Many of the women on the team wept after the loss that earned them the silver, but no one else on the team removed their medal like Larocque did.
Larocque also had trouble answering questions from the media after the ceremony, telling the Globe and Mail she didn’t wear the medal because it was “just hard. We were going for the gold.”
While some took offense and characterized her action as a lack of sportsmanship, U.S. coach Robb Stauber did not judge. “I definitely understand it,” Stauber said, the Globe and Mail reported. “It’s a very heated rivalry.”
According to USA Today, an International Ice Hockey Federation official approached Larocque after the ceremony to tell her she had to wear the medal for legal reasons, but she just nodded to him and walked off, not putting it back on while in reach of cameras.
Social media was split between those who thought Larocque’s act was unsportsmanlike and those who admired her fierce competitive spirit.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.