Figure skater Kailani Craine with coach Tiffany Chin after a practice session in PyeongChang. Photo: Katherine Firkin She may have waited all her life for this moment, but Aussie figure skater Kailani Craine admits it’s taken her a while to settle in to the Olympic Village.
“It didn’t actually sink in for a few days,” Craine said.
“I felt so excited when I arrived, but then it was all a bit hard to believe. I ran around meeting lots of people and trying to see everything, but it still didn’t really feel like it was all real.
“My first practices were a bit shaky too, and my skating wasn’t as strong as I would have liked. I just felt a bit strange.”
But the 19-year-old said the privilege of marching in the Opening Ceremony, helped to ground her to reality.
“I was sitting in the bus with my teammates on the way to the mountain, and I looked at them and saw they were all dressed in the same uniform and it suddenly hit me.
“I let out a little yell of excitement. I was like ‘I’m actually here.’”
“Walking in to the stadium for the Opening Ceremony was everything I hoped for and more. I can’t actually describe how amazing it was.”
Since then, Craine says she’s settled down, and is getting into a good rhythm.
“It was like I needed the Opening Ceremony to wake me up a bit,” she said. “Now I realise I’m actually at the Olympics and this is the only thing I’ve wanted my whole life and I’m going to make the most of every single day.”
The Newcastle skater has also been helped by the arrival of her coach, Los Angeles based Tiffany Chin, who flew in last night.
“I’m so happy to have Tiffany with me now, and just having her on the barriers to remind me of little things to help my technique. Everything is feeling a lot better.”
She’ll also be joined by her parents and her grandparents in a few days, something she says will aid her motivation to perform.
“I really feel like it’s all of us out there competing, not just me. My family has sacrificed so much for me to do this and they’ve been on this journey every step of the way, so it won’t be just me out there on the ice, it will be all of us.”
Craine will skate her short program on Day 12 (February 21), and her free skate on Day 14 (February 23).
Katherine Firkin
olympics.com.au
“It didn’t actually sink in for a few days,” Craine said.
“I felt so excited when I arrived, but then it was all a bit hard to believe. I ran around meeting lots of people and trying to see everything, but it still didn’t really feel like it was all real.
“My first practices were a bit shaky too, and my skating wasn’t as strong as I would have liked. I just felt a bit strange.”
But the 19-year-old said the privilege of marching in the Opening Ceremony, helped to ground her to reality.
“I was sitting in the bus with my teammates on the way to the mountain, and I looked at them and saw they were all dressed in the same uniform and it suddenly hit me.
“I let out a little yell of excitement. I was like ‘I’m actually here.’”
“Walking in to the stadium for the Opening Ceremony was everything I hoped for and more. I can’t actually describe how amazing it was.”
Since then, Craine says she’s settled down, and is getting into a good rhythm.
“It was like I needed the Opening Ceremony to wake me up a bit,” she said. “Now I realise I’m actually at the Olympics and this is the only thing I’ve wanted my whole life and I’m going to make the most of every single day.”
The Newcastle skater has also been helped by the arrival of her coach, Los Angeles based Tiffany Chin, who flew in last night.
“I’m so happy to have Tiffany with me now, and just having her on the barriers to remind me of little things to help my technique. Everything is feeling a lot better.”
She’ll also be joined by her parents and her grandparents in a few days, something she says will aid her motivation to perform.
“I really feel like it’s all of us out there competing, not just me. My family has sacrificed so much for me to do this and they’ve been on this journey every step of the way, so it won’t be just me out there on the ice, it will be all of us.”
Craine will skate her short program on Day 12 (February 21), and her free skate on Day 14 (February 23).
Katherine Firkin
olympics.com.au
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