Jacques the octopus held fast to his prediction of a medal for Team Finland in the 2012 Ice Hockey World Championships, but was twice proven wrong when Finland also lost its bronze medal match against the Czech Republic.
On Friday, Jacques – or Jakki as he is known in Finland -- confidently selected the blue and white Finnish flag when presented with options for the winner. However he was proven wrong – or misunderstood – when Russia savagely defeated Finland 6-2 in Saturday’s semi-final game.
Helsinki Sea Life’s Mirkka Anttila now says there’s a good explanation for Jacques’ apparent error.
“Jakki is still a very young octopus and has only just arrived from France. A bronze medal is still possible. Jakki wrapped his tentacles around the blue-crossed flag so tenaciously,” she said.
All the same, confidence in Jakki’s fortune telling abilities has been shaken to the point where his predictions will probably be taken with a grain of salt in future.
“Still, Jakki is a very enthusiastic fortune-teller, so he will no doubt continue to make forecasts in some form,” Anttila said encouragingly.