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The organizing committee of the Milan Cortina Olympics has issued an apology for the condition of the podium at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, which inadvertently caused minor blade damage to figure skaters during the team medal ceremonies last weekend.
Athletes, including gold medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the U.S. team, reported that the anti-slip surface of the podium led to nicks and scrapes on their skates. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, part of the silver-winning team, was one of the first to notice the issue. She quickly moved away from the podium to inspect her blades while still celebrating her achievement.
In response to the incident, Japan filed a formal complaint regarding the abrasive nature of the podium surface.
The organizers have pledged to “take steps to replace the surface to prevent a reoccurrence” and are offering blade-sharpening services. Additionally, extra training sessions have been arranged for the U.S., Japanese, and bronze-medal-winning Italian teams to mitigate the impact.
“We recognize that some National Olympic Committees have extended their services to support affected athletes from other countries, exemplifying the Olympic spirit,” the committee stated. They further expressed their apologies for any inconvenience caused and reaffirmed their dedication to providing optimal conditions for all competitors.
Skaters typically use freshly sharpened blades as a last resort, because it can take time for them to get worked back in. Instead, they turn to what are called honing stones that they run along the blades to remove any nicks and burrs.
Some wondered whether the blades may have caused a problem for Chock and Bates in the rhythm dance on Monday night, when the favored Americans were beaten by the French couple of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron by a slim margin.
“I think the skates are fine. The blades are good,” Bates said afterward. “We skated great. We felt like it was really strong.”
The next medal ceremony at the Milano Ice Skating Arena was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, following the mixed team relay in short-track speedskating. The next figure skating medal ceremony is on Wednesday night, when Chock and Bates hope to make up their deficit to Beaudry and Cizeron in the free dance and climb onto the top step of a resurfaced podium.