"What's fascinating about Kam and O'Shea's performance in Milan isn't that they stumbled. No amount of work or training can remove every variable every time. The history of Olympic figure skating is shaped almost as much by epic falls as by soaring pirouettes. What's remarkable is how fast they recovered. In another snap of the fingers, with k.d. Lang's version of "Hallelujah" as their soundtrack, Kam leapt back off the hard ice, spinning into rhythm with O'Shea."
""I mean it's a lot of practice, for sure," Kam said. "We focus [in training], so that if something does go wrong in competition, we don't have to question anything. I'm going to be where he is." "We definitely look at each other," O'Shea said. "I do a lot of talking throughout our program. In that moment, it's a deep breath. It's like, all right, calm, one more thing, spin.""
Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea fell during their team pair short program but recovered immediately and continued their routine. Kam acknowledged that perfection is impossible and noted that ice is slippery. O'Shea described the quick reset: Kam rose on her own and they moved into the next element, putting the past behind them. Training builds muscle memory and focus so skaters do not hesitate when mistakes happen. Communication and breath control during performance help stabilize emotion and timing. Other top pairs also experience hard landings, reflecting how falls and recoveries shape Olympic figure skating history.
Read at www.npr.org
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