"The collective roar shakes the room I could feel it in the seats on Sunday and seems to zap right back into Malinin's veins for the rest of his skate. I asked him about it after his first Olympic backflip on Saturday. "It's honestly such an incredible roar-feeling in the environment," he said. "Once I do that backflip, everyone is, like, screaming for joy and they're just out of control.""
"Yesterday I briefly ventured out of the figure skating arena to the long-track speedskating rink to watch the women's 1000-meter race, eager to get a glimpse of Team USA stars Brittney Bowe and Erin Jackson in action. It was thrilling to see their arms and legs move so fast that they almost seemed to be gliding slowly."
Ilia Malinin landed his backflip at nationals and twice in his first two Olympic skates, producing a collective roar that visibly energizes his subsequent performance. The backflip had been illegal in competition from the late 1970s until 2024. The Milano Speed Skating Stadium is attached to a metro stop but requires about a mile on foot, with much of the route lined by conveyor-belt-like moving walkways that ease the transit. The women's 1000-meter event featured Team USA skaters Brittney Bowe and Erin Jackson, while Dutch skater Jutta Leerdam won gold and set a new Olympic record.
Read at www.npr.org
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