Nagasu, Rippon bring mettle to team bronze
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA
>> Not long ago, Mirai Nagasu was considered a figure skating has-been. Only she kept improving with age.
Then there is Adam Rippon, who at 28 was another skater supposedly too old for the heady stage of the Pyeongchang Games.
On Monday, the veterans of U.S. figure skating grabbed hold of their Olympic chances and twirled and whirled to their hearts’ delight to help their country defend its bronze medal in the sport’s team event at Gangneung Ice Arena.
Nagasu and Rippon’s performances led to the medal even before siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani started their free dance — a performance in which they finished second.
Canada seized the gold medal, followed by Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Nagasu, 24, became the first American woman in Olympic history to complete a triple axel, a 3 ½ rotation jump. She scored 137.53 points to finish behind Russian Alina Zagitova, who had a total of 158.08 points.
Nagasu, who grew in the L.A. area but trains in Colorado Springs, wanted to make a statement this month in Korea. Four years ago, she finished third at the U.S. championships but was bypassed by a selection committee in favor of Ashley Wagner for the Sochi Games.
The 2010 Olympian doubled down on her skating after almost walking away.
“When I was left off the team, I wanted to make another Olympic team, and I knew I would really have to be something special,” she said Monday. “So to become the first American to land a triple axel at the Olympic Games is historical, and no one can take that away from me.”
Rippon also suffered doldrums in 2014. He was the best American during the fall 2013 Grand Prix season but finished a career-worst eighth at the U.S. championships. He failed to get to the Sochi Games.
Rippon finished third among the men with a score of 172.98 points. Canadian star Patrick Chan won the men’s free skate with 179.75 points, six points ahead of Russian Mikhail Kolyada.
Rippon put his hands to his mouth after a beautifully executed program. Then he placed them over his heart before embracing teammate Bradie Tennell.
“I wanted to smile big because there are no cheap seats at the Olympics,” he said.
The usually unflappable Rippon said he entered the area a mess.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous at 10 a.m.,” he said of the event that is being held in the morning to accommodate NBC Sports’ programming. “I said, ‘You’re going to miss every element in your program.’”
He didn’t, of course. Nagasu kept her composure though she failed to complete a triple axel last month at the U.S. championships in San Jose.
“That was really special for me,” she said of completing the most difficult jump in women’s skating this time around.
“In these times of stress, these are the moments that really matter,” she said, “so I’ll remember this forever.”