BEIJING — Donovan
Carrillo practices on an ice rink in a shopping mall and only got into figure
skating in the first place to impress a girl.
But on Tuesday he became the
first Mexican to progress past the first round of the
Olympic figure skating —
and had a lot of fun doing it.
اضافة اعلان
A vivacious short program
performance to Santana's "Black Magic Woman" and "Shake It"
— complete with a cheeky hip thrust — earned him a personal-best score and a
place in the men's single free skate on Thursday in Beijing.
"I didn't want it to
end," he said. "I wanted to keep skating and living the Olympic
dream."
In trying to show off to a
girl as an eight-year-old boy, he found his calling.
Now 22, it is a "dream
come true" to be at the
Beijing Games.
"Many people told me
during the beginning of my career that this was a crazy dream for a kid,"
he said. "They were always laughing or telling me it was impossible for a
Mexican to qualify.
"I never wanted to
think like that and I always tried to push harder."
He credited his coach, with
whom he shared a long hug before taking his starting position on Tuesday, with
believing in him from a young age.
‘Challenging'
Carrillo landed a difficult
quadruple toe loop jump early in his routine and visibly drew confidence from
this.
"Yeah I was super
happy," he laughed. "I tried to calm a little bit because I had the
whole program (to go!)"
He said he had to make
adjustments to it because the shopping mall rink is not Olympic-sized — in
fact, there are none in
Mexico that are.
"It’s challenging, I am
not lying," he said of the limitations.
Most of the other skaters he
trains with are 11 to 14-year-old girls, at novice or intermediate level.
But he said instead of being
negative, "I always try to work with what I have and I think that’s key
for me to be here."
Carrillo has no plans to try
and change his training situation.
"I think it’s
working," he said. "So when something is working, I don’t believe in
change too much."
'Like an onion'
Carrillo was the first
Mexican figure skater to qualify for the Olympics in 30 years and is conscious
he is one of the few
Latin American athletes at the Winter Games.
He picked the music for his
routine because Carlos Santana was born in Mexico and because he is Carrillo's
father's favorite artist.
Carrillo's striking costume,
a black shirt streaked with rays of golden crystals, was custom-made for free
by Mexican designer Edgar Lozano.
"I always try to think
on different artists who motivate me to represent my country at the world
level," Carrillo said.
There is one last thing
about the
Beijing Games he is not used to — the sub-zero cold.
"I’m like an onion, I
always put some layers on me," he laughed. "But I'm having a great
time."
Read more Sports
.jpg)
.jpg)
