Though mistakes from other skaters gave him a real chance at the coveted bronze, a bobble from Highland Park's Jason Brown on Friday kept him out of medal contention in men's figure skating.
Brown, 19, finished with a combined score of 238.37 at Iceberg Skating Palace, putting him in ninth place, ahead of fellow American Jeremy Abbott, whose score of 232.70 put him in twelfth.
Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu fell in his free skate but kept the lead over Canada's Patrick Chan to win the gold medal with a score of 280.09.
Brown reprised the U.S. Championships program that garnered more than 3.8 million hits on YouTube and an even wider fan base. Dancing to music from "Riverdance," he came out of the gate a little shaky but grew in confidence and ended strongly.
That performance at nationals earned him a spot on the Olympic team when he moved up to second — and it made him a social media sensation.
"I kept reiterating, 'I want to do what I train; I want to go out there and stay calm,'" Brown said. "That practice of being so mentally in check and having the same questions be asked over and over again with the media, I think that's really helped. When I come here, the cameras aren't daunting."
After finishing sixth Thursday in the short program, Brown was not only in contention for an Olympic bronze medal but also becoming the youngest Olympic men's figure skating medalist since Viktor Petrenko in 1988.
Though he won't go home with an individual medal, he's as appreciative as ever. The fan favorite thanked friends, family and supporters from Illinois as he waited for his score.
