Last week at the Olympics something amazing happened.
Well, actually, two amazing things happened.
As I was sitting by my TV, watching figure skating, I observed one of the most emotional and moving performances by Joannie Rochette, the 24-year-old figure skater from Canada, the host country of the Olympics.
Two days before Rochette’s scheduled events occurred, her mother, Thér?se, suffered a heart attack while in Vancouver and died shortly afterwards. The younger Rochette, decided soon after to continue with her scheduled events.
A similar event happened at the 1988 Calgary Olympics to speed skater Dan Jansen, whose sister Jane died from leukemia while Jansen was preparing for his events. In both situations, the Olympians decided to do the noble thing and continue on with their respected events.
As Jansen began both his 500 and 1,000 meter races, it was apparent his mind was elsewhere as he crashed during both events.
However, something magical happened to Rochette last week.
As she began her warm-ups for her routine, it was evident that she was skating with a heavy heart, her face visibly somber while she was struggling to fight back tears. However, as her performance began, and she settled into her routine, she kept the face of a champion, landing all of her Lutzes, loops and Axels with grace.
As her performance came to a close, the crowd empathetically rose to a roaring applause, and Rochette finally broke down. The scene,was so moving, that even I was trying not to cry.
Rochette’s skating did her well enough to place her in 3rd for the short program, behind the two mega-stars of the event, Kim Yu-Na and Mao Asada, respectively.
Rochette’s following performance earned her a bronze medal, which at that point was icing on the cake. Rochette honored her nation and her mother in one beautiful act.
NBC, the broadcasting company covering the Olympics, made that broadcast last week magical.
They tastefully did a piece before the figure skating with Dan Jansen, the skater who lost his sister. The coverage of Rochette’s routine was perfectly nailed.
The three announcers, Tom Hammond, former figure skater and cancer survivor Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic, all kept very quiet throughout the performance, restraining from critiquing or describing her routine, letting Rochette’s performance speak for itself.
After she finished, Hamilton, obviously fighting back tears, simply stated “There’s no bigger stage than the Olympic games, but to skate in the moment is much more than the competition.”
Hearing about the story a few days before the scheduled event, I wasn’t really planning on watching her skate. I just happened to be at the right moment, at the right place, at the right time and was I ever glad to have been there to watch this performance, because of both Rochette and NBC.
Rochette’s performance would be a given, regardless of whether she performed well or failed. However, NBC could have royally destroyed a beautiful moment as so many other production companies are keen to do.
I feel as if by playing down the dramatics and letting the performance speak for itself, a sports story such as Rochette’s can touch audiences in a more moving manner.
What NBC did for me last week was allow me to feel as if I was a part of the games, as if I was actually there cheering on Rochette as she moved through her tragedy.
Last week’s TV broadcast will be something I will remember for the rest of my life thanks to an admirable woman and the due respect from a broadcasting company. For Joannie Rochette, she will forever be embedded in Olympic lore and so should NBC.