MILAN (AP) 鈥� Jordan Cowan hoists his camera mount and glides across the rink as figure skating competitors warm up and, later, take their bows. Dressed in an ice-white tuxedo, he is as inconspicuous as possible.
The former U.S. competitive ice dancer is the first camera operator on figure skating ice in Olympic history, capturing intimate moments that the overhead or sideboard cameras cannot. While he isn鈥檛 on the ice during the routines, Cowan skates backward after each program to record up close what is often a raw moment of pure joy or disappointment for broadcast globally to viewers at home and on big screens for the arena spectators.
鈥淭o be the first person out on the ice at the end of their performance is such a privilege, and I definitely want them to feel their feelings,鈥� Cowan said in an interview before the pairs short program on Sunday. 鈥淭he ice is a sacred place for a skater.鈥�
At no moment during these Games were the contrasting emotions starker and Cowan鈥檚 job more delicate than after American skater Ilia Malinin鈥檚 two free program skates.
The 21-year-old punched excitedly at Cowan鈥檚 camera after he aced his long program in the team competition, helping Team USA After Malinin botched his final free in the singles competition, Cowan kept his distance as the skater of abject disappointment.
鈥淚鈥檓 there to tell the audience, 鈥業t鈥檚 going to be OK, he鈥檚 still here.鈥� You know, you finish a program, you鈥檙e still alive. There鈥檒l be another day. To see Ilia鈥檚 emotion really is just part of his story,鈥� Cowan said.
While on-ice cameras have long been part of speed skating and hockey, Cowan has helped create the niche for figure skating.
After retiring from competitive skating in 2011, he worked in ballroom dancing and was inspired by how television motivated amateurs to learn new dances. He wanted the same for skating and so in 2018 he started his company, On Ice Perspectives, since when he has since been creating viral video moments from all levels of figure skating across his social media platforms.
At the Winter Games he is working for the Olympic Broadcasting Services, which provides footage to national broadcasting rights holders. He has filmed three U.S. Championships, the 2021 world exhibition gala, and ice shows internationally.
Cowan loves when skaters engage with him as they leave the ice. Many realize he has a microphone and send messages to loved ones. They regularly make heart signs with their hands.
鈥淔or that brief window at the end of the program, when you get to take in the audience by yourself, by having this silent camera slowly available to you, it gives a special moment that we have never been able to capture before,” he said.
Cowan trains with Pilates and yoga to handle the camera while matching athletes鈥� speed. He has designed his own rig, starting with a light-weight steady camera mounted on an electronic stabilized gimbal, maintaining a level horizon no matter how much wind he catches. He鈥檚 added manual focus, cinema zoom and wireless transmission.
Besides the skate-on and skate-off moments during competition, he is also on the ice for the medals ceremonies and will be there for the closing gala when the top competitors perform their crowd-pleasing signature moves.
The gala is a unique challenge, as he will have to read their moves to both stay out of their way and capture the moment. It鈥檚 a skill that competitive skaters pick up from training alongside teammates and competitors.
His skating abilities and familiarity with the athletes and their programs make it work. And to blend into the icy background as much as possible, Cowan has been experimenting with both gray and white skating looks.
鈥淚鈥檝e trained myself to be able to follow skaters without knowing the choreography,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey know they don鈥檛 have to look out for me, and I鈥檓 going to do everything I can to stay out of their way because safety is my number one priority. The perfect compliment I get is when the skaters say they didn鈥檛 even realize I was out there.鈥�
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