Figure skating-U.S. skaters embrace village buzz after Beijing's COVID bubble

MILAN, Feb 4 - U.S. figure skaters at the Milano Cortina Olympics said they are savouring a more normal Games than Beijing in 2022, when COVID-19 restrictions kept families away and muted the atmosphere.

Veteran ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, competing at their fourth Olympics together, said the buzz around the venue and athlete village, from pin trading to casual meals with teammates from other sports, has brought back the Olympic magic.

"The energy in the village is incredible," Bates said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"The setup is great. People are excited. People are in training and mask-less. Those things, I think, are an integral part of the Olympic Games."

Gold-medal favourite Ilia Malinin, making his Olympic debut, said the experience had been a "thrill," even as he tried to frame it as just another competition to keep his focus.

"There's so much excitement and energy that just flies through the village," he said.

"You feel it every morning how every single athlete is so happy, so grateful to be there. It's so cool going into a cafeteria and seeing so many team jackets. It's something that I really never imagined.

"With that said, you still have to know what your focus is... I always think of this as a competition."

Three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn, also making her Olympic debut, said the scale of the athlete village has made the experience more akin to a first taste of campus life than a one-off, pressure-cooker event.

"I haven't gone to college yet, I'm waiting for that, but it feels like I'm in a college dorm," she said.

"I've been doing a lot of pin trading, I've got a whole bag, and it's been so cool and so fun. I feel like a kid again.

"Overall this is just a unique opportunity. I mean, how many people can say they went to the Olympics? Not many. So I'm just trying to embrace that and remind myself that this is a great opportunity, not just a competition, but also I am here to do a job."

The tone around the stacked U.S. team was one of collective belief, with skaters repeatedly emphasizing that figure skating's individual nature does not preclude collaboration.

"What's beautiful about the figure skating team is we genuinely love and care for each other very deeply and want to see one another succeed to the highest potential that we all have," Chock said.

"When we support each other, we're able to show our best selves when we step onto the ice." REUTERS