It’s hard for me not to get teary-eyed when videos of failing or successful moments from athletic events appear on my feed. Whether it’s the buzzer beating shot or the overtime goal, moments that define games are not only impactful on the athletes themselves, but on the spectators of the sports.
The Olympics date back to 3000 years ago, to the Peloponnese in Ancient Greece. The games would take place every four years in Olympia where they coined the name, the Olympic Games. Many sources cite 776 BC as the origin of the games, and as mythology and history have become mixed, the reason for the games beginning is unknown. The four year interval between the games was known as an Olympiad, and this was another method the Greeks used to track time. In 1894, Pierre de Coubertin launched his plan to revive the games. The first modern games would take place in Athens in 1896.
Every Olympics since, the location where the games are held changes. After I had decided to study abroad in Italy, it was only shortly after that I realized the Winter Olympic Games were being held in Milan. At the time, I had no concept of how far my host city of Florence was from Milan, but almost immediately I added attending the games to my bucket list. When the end of February rolled around this year, I was lucky enough to not only attend two Olympic events, but I got to see them with my dad.
The way the entire course of events unfolded could not have been more practical. Since I had left the states, my dad had been planning to come visit me. After being in Italy for two months, I knew that I wanted him to see more of the country than just Florence.
My dad is always offering me life advice, and often it’s in the form of movie quotes. What we do in life, echoes in eternity is a mantra he always repeats to me. The quote comes from one of his favorite movies, Gladiator, which plays on our TV many nights out of the year. After I visited Rome, I knew it would mean so much to him to see the Colosseum. As we were planning, we ultimately decided to add an extra pit stop in Milan. In addition to Milan having been a city I’d not yet visited, what’s a better reason to visit somewhere than getting the chance to see an Olympic event?
Overwhelmed with midterms and how many different events there are at the games, I left it in the hands of my dad to choose what events he would be interested in seeing. He decided on short track speed skating and a men’s hockey game between Canada and Switzerland.
Short-track speed skating is an ice speed skating competition where multiple skaters, typically four to six, skate on an oval track. It was mainly practiced in the United States and Canada, and in 1967 the International Skating Union adopted short track speed skating. It was introduced to the games in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. In 1992 there were four events, which eventually reached eight events in the 2002 games.
For men and women the games are the same, 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters. Additionally, there are relay events, 5000 meters for men and 3000 meters for women. There are a slew of rules — like any other sport — and they’re obvious in the same way that track and field violations are. Whether it’s a false start, impeding — meaning a skater intentionally targets another skater —, or equipment issues, this highly technical game becomes complicated with athletic spirit.
My dad and I arrived in Milan in the early afternoon, with enough time to drop off our things at our hotel and grab lunch. My dad is a huge fan of pizza, and I don’t think we shared a single meal without it. Wanting to get to the rink early, we only had a little time to walk around before we called a taxi and were on our way.
The energy at the rink was indescribable. Typically at high school or professional sporting events in the U.S. there are only two teams, unless it’s a tournament where multiple teams are playing. There was something about multiple teams from all different countries competing for medals that made the energy intense. There were skaters from the U.S., but the largest numbers of skaters in both the men’s and women’s events were from the Netherlands. It seemed as though the stands were almost entirely orange, the color of the Netherland’s uniforms.
There were three different events happening for short track that night — qualifiers, semi-finals, and finals. In the end, there would be medal ceremonies for both men and women. This added another layer of excitement in the stands, the hope that someone’s national team would bring home a medal.
The event itself was incredibly enjoyable to watch. I don’t think I have ever sat down to observe the sport closely before, but with how detailed these skaters have to be, it’s amazing to watch them. The blades on their skates are longer than those on a hockey or figure skating skate, designed for the skaters to have the ability to generate large strides on the ice with less friction. The way that they have to meticulously place their feet in order to stay in an ideal position, while trying to simultaneously get ahead of their opponents, is insane to watch.
In a number of rounds, there were issues with starting and player contact. There was one round that had to restart a number of times because so many players fell onto the ice, and I began to wonder if they were going to be able to finish the race. In another race, Italian skater Pietro Sighel was disqualified after he made an illegal move that caused Polish skater Michal Niewinski to fall.
In the end, the Netherlands skaters Xandra Velzeboer and Jens van ‘t Wout took home gold in both the men’s and women’s races. My dad and I somehow ended up conveniently seated behind where the medal podium was and we ended up in the background of the professional photos.
The next day, my dad and I were attending the Canada versus Switzerland game. However, that was not until later in the evening, which gave us plenty of time to explore Milan. We went to the Milan Cathedral and it is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. On one of the walkways that sits between countless stores, they had LED signs of the Olympic events. They were super cute, and honestly the only indicator that the city was hosting the games.
This Olympics this yearwas not contained within one city, rather it spanned almost 22,000 km² within northern Italy. One of the towns that Milan was using for the games was Cortina d’Ampezzo, which is a ways east of the city. Additionally the rinks for the skating events were in locations out of the city center, so they were not able to be reached just by walking.
After getting one of the more mediocre lunches I’ve had in Italy, we continued walking around until we reached an Omega pop-up. Omega is a luxury Swiss watchmaker founded in 1848 and is the official timekeeper of the Olympics. With many events in the Olympics being races, timing is everything. This pop-up gave a brief history of how the company came to earn their position in the games, and also how their technology operates for different events.
There was a virtual reality experience where people could sit in mock bobsleighs and experience the feeling of racing. My favorite part though had to be a photobooth where you could put your face on skiers competing trick moves. They are some of the funniest pictures I have, and I never knew that I didn’t have to be an athlete to get my photo as a freestyle skier.
The time finally came for us to watch our second and final Olympic event. Once again we got to the rink early, and walked around and around until it was time for the game to start. At the speed skating event, there were a number of countries represented, and the spectators were all wearing different colors. However, at the hockey game, both Canada and Switzerland are red. Walking into the rink, a sea of red was everywhere.
The energy was again electric, with each country chanting and singing songs. Some of the best players in the National Hockey League (NHL) are from Canada, so their team was lined with a number of star players. Notably, Connor McDavid is someone I have seen play at T.D. Garden in Boston before. McDavid moves with speed and intention on the ice, making him incredibly impressive to watch.
I played hockey from the time I was three until I graduated from high school, and I get choked up every time I watch. It was such a fun game and ultimately Canada gained a large lead ahead of Switzerland.
There’s no way to describe how grateful I am that I was able to have this experience and share it with my father. This was not only a memory that made my study abroad special, but one that I will always cherish.