WeeklySA_AdminLUCKY CHARMS: Cats, moustaches, underwear and socks – what do they have in common when you are preparing for the Games of your lives? Find out about the superstitions some Olympians have found useful while chasing glory on the biggest stage in winter sport.
By Sports Reporter
Almost every winter sport is about controlling the friction, between the equipment you use and the ice or the snow. They require precision, determination and sometimes, improvisation. But for all the hard work it takes to win races or pull off acrobatic performances better than your rivals, things do not always unfold as expected.
That is probably why some of the top athletes tend to turn their attention to something inexplicable, even in crucial moments that may define their careers or even their lives. Join Olympics.com in finding out about the rituals and superstitions some Olympians turn to on their quests to make history at the Olympic Winter Games.
Body paint
At the Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020 after a lucky cat drawn on her hand seemingly helped her win the big air competition, People’s Republic of China’s freestyle skier Eileen Gu told Olympics.com:
“I’m very superstitious. But I know that’s not the best thing for people to have when they compete. I was looking between my lucky symbols and calmed myself down… If I podium at the actual Olympics I’ll have the lucky cat tattooed.”
Now the time has come for the Chinese starlet to grab her chance to have her lucky charm tattooed, with a medal at Beijing 2022.
Czech Republic snowboarder Eva Samková is famous for drawing a fake moustache on her upper lip before going into crucial competitions. She has developed the habit since she participated in the 2011 FIS World Championship, where she finished in fifth place on her debut.
Three years later, she stood on top of the podium in snowboard cross at Sochi 2014 to win her country’s first gold medal of the Games – this time wearing a special moustache in the three colours of the Czech national flag: white, red and blue.
Eva Samkova of Czech Republic
Speaking of colours, Kwak Yoongy, Republic of Korea’s short track speed skating team captain, knew exactly what colour would lead him to victories.
Kwak once confessed that he had been obsessed with his underwear when preparing for big events. As a matter of fact, the 32-year-old had a sophisticated habit of arranging his underpants in various colours according to a week-long schedule leading up to the big day.
However, he was forced to give up the routine, as he needed to rearrange the order of the colours whenever the schedules changed. So Kwak has come up with a simple solution of wearing underpants which are always the same shape and colour, which is red. Conversely, Italian speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida does not stick to one particular colour. She always changes her mind according to the situation, before carefully choosing what to wear under her suit.
“I choose my underwear according to the colours that have brought me luck in other races,” said the current Italian record holder in 3000m and 5000m, during a recent interview with Olympics.com. “But for each event – 1000, 1500 or 3000 metres – I have different colours. And to avoid clashes in some cases, I put on mismatched socks sometimes.”
Pre-competition rituals
Sometimes it also helps to have a ritual that you share with your teammates. When asked if she had a routine before the games, Alina Kovaleva, the skip of the ROC women’s curling team, told Olympics.com: “Yes, we have a team ritual before the games. We play with a little ball full of rice, which is called ‘socks’ [footbag circle kicking] – we kick it and then everyone goes to warm up, stretch and get ready for the game.”
“Whenever we went out early on the ice before the game, there were always 15-20 minutes left and we started kicking the mitten because there was nothing else to do. Then we decided that we needed special equipment – a ball that we would kick so as not to spoil our equipment. That’s why we decided to buy a pair of socks to play the game.”
Meanwhile, Hungarian short track skater Shaolin Sandor Liu went viral at PyeongChang 2018, when he introduced his signature entrance to the ice before the race: T
ouching his right eyebrow and then left with his right hand while staring at the camera, before winking with his right eye and smiling. It’s not clear whether this ritual was part of the reason for him winning a first-ever Olympic gold medal for Hungary, but Shaolin seems to believe in the power of his ‘Wink of Love’:
“I just did a little wink in the camera and everybody loved it! It gives me good luck. I win a lot of races with my luck.”
SKATING FOR GLORY
OLYMPICS 2024: After an attritional two-year-long qualification period the fields for skateboarding in Paris promise to be the deepest yet
By Sports Reporter
The world’s best 88 men’s and women’s skateboarders will compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, from 27 July to 7 August.
The 44 men and 44 women, who successfully secured a quota for the Games, will skate in the park and street disciplines in two bespoke venues nestled in the heart of Paris’ iconic Place de La Concorde.
Reigning Olympic park champions Keegan Palmer and Yosozumi Sakura, and men’s street gold medallist Horigome Yuto, will all be bidding to become the first back-to-back Olympic title winners as they go for gold in Paris. But there will be plenty of skaters plotting to stop them.
In the men’s street discipline, United States skate legend Nyjah Huston will lead the charge against Horigome with medallists Kelvin Hoefler and Jagger Eaton in tow. Likewise, Australia’s Palmer, the current king of men’s park, will have a host from the US skaters chasing him down fronted by world champion Gavin Bottger.
Over in women’s park, Sky Brown, third-place runner-up in Tokyo, will be among those hoping to unseat Yosozumi along with Australian history-maker Arisa Trew.
And in women’s street, with no Nishiya Momiji in Paris, a new champion is set to be crowned with Brazilian silver medallist Rayssa Leal among those in the chase.
After an attritional two-year-long qualification period punctuated by global stops and the collection of ranking points, the fields for skateboarding in Paris promise to be the deepest yet.
In the men’s street event, Nyjah Huston will headline the stars set to compete and after finishing seventh in Tokyo, he will be expected to go better this time in France.
Japan’s Horigome will be one obstacle to gold but he won’t be the only one from his country to threaten.
World champion Shirai Sora and 14-year-old Japanese phenom Onodera Ginwoo have impressed throughout qualifying with Onodera in particular, out-manoeuvring skaters twice his age and size. With Eaton, Hoefler, French medal hope Aurélien Giraud and Jagger Eaton (USA) in the mix, men’s street promises to deliver on drama.
In the women’s event, Brazilian superstar Rayssa Leal will have the might of a nation behind her when she drops in Paris. Having shot to celebrity status after winning silver as a 13-year-old in Tokyo, Leal has only gotten stronger and better. She will face challenges from a deep Team Japan fronted by Liz Akama as well as Australian star 14-year-old Chloe Covell who has wowed since qualifying began.
Great Britain’s Sky Brown, another teenage star who pierced public consciousness, will return to the action in women’s park as a favourite for the podium.
Though her Olympic cycle has been less than straightforward with an unsuccessful pursuit of an Olympic berth for surfing and a torn MCL, at the final Olympic Qualifier in Budapest Brown showed she still has the form to succeed. She will face a stern challenge from the ever-consistent Tokyo silver medallist Hiraki Kokona and new arrival Arisa Trew, 14, who has been racking up world records in vert skateboarding.
Men’s park has seen a surge in newcomers since the road to Paris 2024 began, and while Olympic champion Keegan Palmer has managed to keep pace with strong showings at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest and Shanghai, his title defence will require his very best.
US skaters Gavin Bottger, Tate Carew and Tom Schaar and Brazilians Luigi Cini, Pedro Barros and Augusto Akio will be healthily in the mix and ready to push the boundaries when the Games get underway.
