American Adam Rippon, 28, was elegant in his Olympic debut, turning in an emotive skate to Coldplay’s “O (Fly On)”, which via costume and opening tableau told the story of a bird with a broken wing ultimately taking flight.
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Rippon exudes confidence and he backed it up on the world stage.
For the record, the USA team is: Nagasu, Rippon, and the Shibutanis, in addition to Nathan Chen, Chris Knierim, and Bradie Tennell.
As did the team bronze medal, of course. The U.S is third with 44.
Before he took the ice – and even during his program – Rippon admitted that he did quite a bit of talking to himself. Russian Mikhail Kolyada received a score of 173.57 and Rippon had the third-highest mark with 172.98.
Rippon’s routine was graceful and left commentators Jonny Weir and Tara Lipinski speechless.
“I couldn’t have been more into that”, Lipinski gushed.
Rippon’s Olympic status and openness about his sexuality have raised his profile in Pyeongchang, South Korea, adding to the pressure he faced Monday.
After the event, he said, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous at 10 a.m.in my life, ‘ reports USA Today. They won gold in ice dance in 2010, plus a team event silver and an ice dance silver four years ago in Sochi.
Nagasu, who is also Japanese, joked about the history the three now share. The skater says he enjoys a big brother/little brother dynamic with 18 year-old teammate, Nathan Chen.
She said, “It was really cool and I love that they are trying to help me”. The 15 year old trains alongside Yevgenia Medvedeva, and a showdown is expected between the two for the Olympic gold in the ladies event.
Distribution of condoms at an Olympics is a tradition that, when condoms were made freely available at that year’s Summer Games in Seoul to prevent the spread of HIV, reported Time magazine. The past two ceremonies were especially scrutinized. Instead, she said, “We’ve really bonded during these competitions”.
So yes, it looks like there is a place in figure skating for teamwork.
The pairs, who’ve won 13 of the last 14 Olympic titles, still are the gold standard. “‘Fairy, ‘ ‘sissy, ‘ ‘faggot, ‘ I had heard them all”.
Adam Rippon just said “I want to go up to the judges and say can I just have a Xanax?”
“It’s a lot of pressure and stress to come out here – and it was my goal and my dream to be here and to be selected to the Olympic team”. And I’m not just talking about his skating.
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“I was very upset for a very long time”. I always tried to do what other people wanted. I’ve done it a million times here. And it’s on the house.
