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The thrill tore through me. Bright and savage and so very alive.

We had them. The crowd, the judges, everyone.

Every person who had expected me to fall.

Every dream I’d clung to, refusing to let it be torn from my hands.

We gathered speed again, raced into the next phase, side by side, blades cutting hard, bodies leaning into the same impossible curve.

The wind tore at my eyes, my lungs burned, my heart felt too big for my whole body. I was no longer trying to prove I belonged.

I knew I did.

THIRTY-SIX

COMMENTATOR

The final section of their program now. The music opens, and so do the dancers. Look at the speed they’re carrying across the ice. My goodness, Phillipps dives forward onto her left outside edge. Navarro crosses behind her. Beautiful change of hold.

Every movement has grown larger. The edges are deeper, the extensions longer, and yet they’ve lost none of their control.

Navarro sends Phillipps away from him. She turns. And he catches her exactly on the musical phrase. This is exquisite timing!

There’s such confidence in them now. No hesitation from either of them. Navarro is skating with extraordinary emotional freedom.

We’ve always known he can perform, but this goes beyond performance. He’s giving the audience everything he can. They both are.

The final sequences begins.

Phillipps drops low as Navarro circles tightly. He catches her and props her up as the music reaches its crescendo, and what a lift!

Navarro is traveling at tremendous speed. One rotation, two, Phillipps opens her body, completely secure above him. He changes direction, an exceptionally difficult move so late in the program. His legs must be burning. But there’s no sign of fatigue, no loss of momentum whatsoever from these two. He lowers her onto one foot. Clean. Very clean.

Listen to the arena. The audience is on its feet here in Sapporo.

Phillipps and Navarro drive into the final diagonal, crossovers building at speed, their blades are almost silent beneath the music. They separate, Navarro on the wider curve. Phillipps crossing through the center. They tun toward each other. One final edge. One final reach. And they meet.

Done, my goodness!

The music ends.

Stunning, absolutely stunning.

And that was a performance.

Oh my word, what did we just witness?

Phillipps is in Navarro’s arms. You can see how they’re both absolutely thrilled with that, and they should be. The entire arena is standing and cheering. They know they’ve achieved something quite remarkable here today.

You can see the raw emotion from Phillipps and Navarro. Navaro has buried his face in her shoulder. They’re holding each other. So well deserved this. What an absolute pleasure to witness these two skaters at the top of their careers here.

And Navarro goes to his knees. He’s not injured, this is pure emotion. Phillipps wraps her arms around him.

Well . . . You’ll have to forgive me for getting emotional as well. Because there’s no hiding what this means to them. It’s all there on Navarro’s face. This young man has endured so very much to be here, and he’s just skated the dance of his life. Navarro has always worn his emotions openly, and sometimes this sport has punished him for that. Today, this is why thousands of people inside the arena are emotional with him.

Phillipps helps him back to his feet. He looks out at the crowd. And listen to that response. The noise is extraordinary. He places his hand over his heart and Phillipps raises their joined hands. They’re both sobbing now, and so am I. Of course medals matter, grades and scores, but there are moments in sport that are larger than numbers. This is one of them.

Camden Navarro came here with the world waiting to see whether he would fall.