At the same moment that a mix of Ricky Martin’s ’90s hits “Living La Vida Loca” and “La Copa de la Vida” began to play over the speakers at Milan’s ice skating arena, the Swedish ice dancing couple was historic in more ways than one.
Nikolaj Majorov is now the only figure skater in the world to have competed in the Olympic Games in both men’s singles and ice dance. In addition, he and his Norwegian-born girlfriend Milla Ruud Reitan – who also became a Swedish citizen last month – are Sweden’s first ice dancing couple at the Olympics.
– It was fantastic. A hellish atmosphere. The crowd cheered. They enjoyed it and we enjoyed it. “It was a pure adrenaline rush,” says Nikolaj Majorov.
On Monday evening There was rhythmic dancing on the program and after the Swedish couple’s number there wasn’t much to complain about.
– It was completely crazy. “We got the most out of this experience,” says Milla Ruud Reitan and continues:
– I actually can’t believe I competed in the Olympics. It’s crazy that we’ve come this far and everything just worked out.
Immediately after completing the number, the couple exchanged a kiss on the ice to the cheers of the audience.
“We usually always do that,” says Majorov afterwards.
“Especially when we are particularly happy,” Ruud Reitan interjects.
They then settled in to take part in the final score of 67.31.
Do you feel like you got the ride set up the way you wanted?
– Yes, yes. You can go in at any time and watch in slow motion and poke things. But now we won’t do that and just enjoy this ride for life. “We did our best and were paid really well at times,” says Nikolaj Majorov.
When the pair met the Swedish media on site at the rink, they didn’t know whether the skating was good enough to advance to the final session on Wednesday – but about 45 minutes later the dream message came.
With eight numbers completed, it was already clear that Majorov and Ruud Reitan had three nations behind them, meaning a top 20 finish was assured.
Majorov and Ruud Reitan finished 13th at the European Championships in Sheffield in January, which was the highest placing ever by a Swedish ice dancing couple. Last year they finished 25th at the World Cup.
The competition is still ongoing.
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