This probably isn’t in the Olympics handbook on how to deal with pre-competition jitters.
After Adam Rippon of the United States excelled during his Winter Olympics debut in the men’s free skate for the team event Monday, he and NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico talked about overcoming butterflies.
Tirico asked the 28-year-old Rippon what was going through his mind when he took the ice.
“I want to throw up,” the athlete said. “I want to go over to the judges and say, ‘Can I just have a Xanax and a quick drink. I’ll be fine.’ But I kept it together. I just took it one element at a time.”
Rippon finished third with 172.98 points to help Team USA to a bronze medal in the team event.
But he’s also getting attention off the ice for being the first openly gay U.S. figure skater to compete at the games ― and for his colorful comments.
On Saturday, Rippon took to Instagram to say he was “disappointed” that the condoms being distributed at the games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, were so bland. He griped that they could have been available in different colors or bear the Olympics logo.
“Life isn’t always what it seems and sometimes the condoms are just generic,” he said.
Rippon has also criticized Vice President Mike Pence for his perceived intolerance toward the LGBTQ community, and reportedly refused to meet the veep before the games.
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