Speedskating revs up its shiny silver blades for some exciting moments on the ice. What is left out of television coverage are the little-known technicals.
them newfangled zipper skates. flickr photo. creative commons licensed.
Medals are given out for best times. However, those medals can also be taken away with sloppy technicals. What are these technicals? The pre-skate, more commonly known as the Dressing Period. Contestants are judged in the following categories: speed of putting on one’s skates; tightness of laces; top-tie bow symmetry; cleanliness of skates and sharpness of blade.
Last Olympics, the clear winner was Lars Frederikkkssson of Sweden, narrowly defeating Russian Vlad Nabokov in the sharpness of blade category 10 points to 9.5 with the Canadian judge giving him a 7. To show his disappoint, an incensed Vlad grabbed his then 14 year-old girlfriend, held her left hand aloft then sliced it off with one swoop of his right skate.
This Olympic moment brought to you by Gillette, America’s favorite shaver “look sharp, blade sharp.”
Tags: American, blade sharpness, Gillette, olympics, Russian, speedskating, Sweden, zippered-skates
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