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GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — Canada walked away with the gold, but a Clarks Summit native got plenty of attention in helping the United States to a bronze medal
Adam Rippon, replacing U.S. champ Nathan Chen, skated a fluid and at times mesmerizing performance in the men’s free skate that helped the U.S. put a stranglehold on the bronze medal over the fourth-place Italians.
“His performance was as clean as the shimmering Korean ice, his smile beaming with satisfaction and a tiny tear of emotion at the end of a job beautifully done,” said USA Today.
“I worked so hard for this moment,” said Rippon, who was added to the team by the U.S. committee in January ahead of Ross Miner. “I still have another week of competition to go, but to have that moment, my family is here, I have friends watching at home. To do it for them who have supported me and watched me and been on this long road that’s been up and down, that feels incredible.”
Commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir lauded Rippon for his performance, which also struck a chord with television viewers. Rippon was trending on Twitter with praise of his performance.
Still judges placed him third behind Patrick Chan of Canada and Mikhail Kolyada for Olympic Athletes of Russia.
But Rippon continued to grab the spotlight even after he left the ice. His answer to a question about what was going through his mind while he is on the ice went viral.
“I want to throw up. I want to go over to the judges and say, ‘can I just have a Xanax and a quick drink?’ I’ll be fine. And I kept it together,” he said.
The other stars of Monday’s Olympic free skates were a Russian and an American woman, Canada’s deep squad grabbed the team gold medal it so desperately sought.
The top spot was clinched when Gabrielle Daleman finished third behind Russian Alina Zagitova and American Mirai Nagasu in the women’s event. That gave Canada 63 points to 58 for the Russians with only the ice dance remaining. The Russians could only pick up a maximum of four points in that discipline.
The United States repeated its showing in the 2014 Sochi Games with a bronze medal.
Just before Daleman’s clincher, Patrick Chan won the men’s free skate against a weakened field, and with a mediocre performance.
Regardless, Canada’s quest for a medal its skaters said they set about winning ever since they wound up second in Sochi was complete with one program remaining.
“I worked my butt off incredibly hard these past four years to get on this team,” Daleman said. “We have such an incredible, strong team, and I’m proud to say we’ve won and I’m prouder to have been part of it.”
With their team gold medal assured, ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir tie the record for most Olympic medals won by figure skaters with four. Evgeni Plushenko and Gillis Grafstrom also won four apiece.
The women’s free skate was historic for the Americans. Nagasu, whose career hit several roadblocks since finishing fourth at the 2010 Olympics — she was bumped from the 2014 U.S. team in favor of Ashley Wagner by a federation committee — had the performance of her life. Not only did her teammates rise in applause, so did skaters from other nations, and not simply because she landed the triple axel so few women even attempt.
“I don’t know if you could tell — it was more something I could feel — but to nail it the way I did, even out of the corner of my eye I could see my teammates standing out of excitement,” Nagasu said. “And at that moment I wanted to stop the music and get off, but I still had my whole program ahead of me, and to complete the performance to the best of my ability is really exciting.”
Zagitova, the rising star from Russia and current European champion, topped Nagasu’s score by 20 points. The 15-year-old stamped herself as the main challenger to countrywoman Evgenia Medvedeva for the gold in the individual event with a brilliant combination of jumps, spins, artistry and overall presence.
Just like Friday’s men’s short program, the men’s free skate was anything but memorable. Chan won it despite several major mistakes — his struggles on the triple axel struck him once again. His artistry boosted his mark significantly, and, frankly, the four other competitors are not his main competition in the individual event later this week.
The 10-time national champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist moved Canada closer to that highly sought gold, extending its lead by a point.
“We wanted to make sure one of us would beat the Russians in our events, and I’m so honored to have done it,” Chan said.
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More AP Olympic coverage: https://wintergames.ap.org
