Winter Olympics: Together We Share The Glory

It's a simple recipe: pure glory and unabashed joy of sport. This is why we watch the Olympic Games. Sure, everyone likes to catch a few minutes of curling on late night cable TV coverage. And, maybe the medal rounds of Olympic hockey. And, you can't go wrong with a little slopestyle snowboarding either.

But what makes it all special is catching a glimpse of athletes, who most likely are not known outside of their sports, display sportsmanship and a gigantic smile when they win gold – or maybe just hit the most impossible move.

Take for instance Mirai Nagasu, who became the first American woman to land a triple axel in Olympic competition. Her performance in the women's long program of the Team Event in Figure Skating helped the United States win the bronze medal.

But it was her giant smile, a shout and fist-pumping that told us what she did mattered. And it did: Only two other lady Olympians, Midori Ito and Mao Asada, both of Japan, have done the move. Incidentally, Nagasu, who is Japanese American and comes from Arcadia, California, gave an interview to Japanese press after her performance.

The storylines from this year's U.S. Figure Skating team are plentiful. In addition to Nagasu, men's figure skater Adam Rippon turned in a fourth-place finish in the men's competition and the outstanding brother-sister ice dancing duo Maia and Alex Shibutani finished second to secure the bronze medal for Team USA.

The Shibutanis, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, are a great story. Last year, after the Four Continents Championships, they toured Korea as ambassadors with the U.S. State Department and Team USA. They toured schools and shared ice time with young children.

A video from the ShibSib video blog is below:

And, if figure skating isn't quite your thing, there is slopestyle snowboarding and Red Gerard, a native of Rocky River, Ohio. In 11th (and last place in the medal round), Gerard needed to put up something big. And, indeed, he did. After mixing grabs and turns over the rails at the top of his run, Gerard made some risky moves at the bottom – a 1080-degree jump off the quarterpipe side of the kicker and closing with a a backside triple-cork 1440.

The moves skyrocketed the 17-year-old into first place and to the top of the podium. His gold medal was the first medal – gold, silver or bronze – won by Team USA at these games.

And, like the performances of the Shibutanis, Nagasu and Rippon, it was the unexpected glory that made it special – not just to the athletes and Team USA, but to us at home who was watching them on TV and the internet.

Watch Gerard's run below:

Photo: Red Gerard, of the United States, smiles after winning gold in the men's slopestyle final at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)