He is going back home tomorrow Sunday February 18 before coming back for the gala next weekend: FedHielo says "Os podemos confirmar un dato muy importante: Javier Fernández skater regresa mañana a Madrid. Será a las 23:10 horas en la T2 del aeropuerto de Barajas."
Hope everyone who can out there in Spain hauls themselves to the airport!!!
E
Why he didn't come and share the same ride to the airport by speed train with me this morning? The plus side is that I get to sit in the same carriage with two Russian men, the Pineapple King and Dima, and their coaches of course.
Last night was too excited to get any solid sleep, I celebrated with my friend who is a volunteer here at a local bar until 3 o'clock this morning. I needed a good amount of alcohol anyway, to warm myself after standing still in a very windy night for almost 3 hours. I am not complaining here, these three hours are one of most memorable moments of my life. For almost 10 years I have followed this young Spaniard's skating career, and finally he made it to the Olympics Podium, which he probably had never dreamed of when he started to skate in a tiny ice surface in Madrid. I myself, as a hard core figure skating fan, had never came to my mind that someone from Spain would become a double world champions, 6 times consecutive European Champions, and an Olympics medallist, and more importantly, he is this generation's Kurt Browning.
I am glad I didn't waste any time to make my way to the medal plaza , I didn't get the first row like we did at the Moscow, but the eighth row in the center was good enough. The media zone was next to me at the right hand side, where I saw Sonia and another lady from Spanish team who carried a Spanish flag about 5 minutes prior to the ceremony. They smiled at me, since I was holding my Spanish flag, a large size one. Apparently I was the only one in the front rows waving a Spanish flag to him, if I wasn't mistaken, and I thought he saw the flag and waved it a couple of times.
I wouldn't repeat much details of the ceremony, as you all saw it on TV. Our guy was smiling from the beginning to the end, the orange outfits of the other two medallists surprisingly compliment Javier's blue overcoat, otherwise he would have merged within the Stage in blue.
With the rising Spanish flag, it suddenly struck me that I may not be able to hear the Spanish Anthem in an ice arena for a long while once Javier ends his competitive career, but I got rid of the sentimental feelings very soon. Javier has plowed the path to the skating world, his teammates and young generations of Spanish skaters who are inspired by Javier will keep on fighting to the top. Not only his own country men and women, I believe that other skaters from small federations would also set hope to their future because of him. All the dreams are possible, so long as you put your whole heart in it and keep on fighting. As to Javier, I imagine that he would follow Brian's steps and become a great coach one day, happily jumping up and downs for the triumphs of his students.
Vamos Javier!
