And the media starts flowing in!
A radio interview (sounds like Javi was still in Korea and this was on the phone in the gala dinner)
Interviewer: A pleasure to greet an Olympic medalist. Javier, good evening.
Javi: Hi, good evening
I: Congratulation
Thank you very much
How are you? I guess that a few hours later the feeling is different.
J: Yes, yes. The taste is much better, with all my family who has come to see me to the cold Pyeongchang. We are all very happy.
I: Javier tell us how your performance went, how did everything go? What were you feeling?
J: The truth is that we couldn't have asked for more this day. It's been a good day, though not a perfect day. The competition has been very interesting, all the skaters skated very well. And I am happy with the program I performed, the score, and specially getting another medal for our (Spain's) Olympic medal table.
I: Javier, you were feeling gutted (about Sochi), was this a burden on your during all these years?
J: It did bother me a bit, because it was a dream I had for a long time, ever since I saw I could get it, and I didn't. So achieving this has been accomplishing my dream with a lot of joy and excitement, I finally took that burden off.
I: Javier, I have here people more specialized on this matter but I want to go with the emotional part. There is a culture of success that sometimes only values the medals: first, second third. You have achieved it, thankfully. You know what winning is like, you know what it's like to be World champion, European Champion, win at the highest level. You know what the audience's ovation is like. But on this journey, from Sochi to this, I imagine that now what you remember the most is the moments you've been alone. You've worked many hours, you've had to work on the artistic part, the physical part, all those hours and it finally pays off.
J: Everything pays off, exactly. Everything I've done since I was little, practicing this sport, all the effort and sacrifices the people around me have done so I could achieve all my victories it's what it's the most important. The color of the medal doesn't matter, but the medal itself, it carries all that joint effort.
I: I have Pipe (?) here, who likes you a lot. He was very excited, he got here with tissues, snot and he said "I've been up since 6 am, I can't" (laugh). Pipe here is Javier.
Pipe: Javi, congratulations!
J: Thank you very much.
P: We all got very excited. We got very happy because of the medal, which I imagine that you value a lot more as the hours pass by. But in that moment, we felt like the silver slipped away. I don't know if you feel the same.
J: Well at one moment, yeah. Perhaps I felt like I could have gotten the silver. But as i said, the important thing is the Olympic medal itself that takes the weight off my shoulder and leaves me with a good aftertaste. We had never gotten an Olympic medal in figure skating, and now we do.
I: I have here someone who is also very special to me, I consider her a master in sports journalism, 14 Olympic Games. I am sure she experienced this differently, but she greatly appreciates you and has talked a lot about your career. And she talked about this one on social media, Paloma del Río. Paloma, good evening.
Paloma: Good evening, how is it going?
I: How are you, Paloma?
P: Very good now. I'm very happy to listen to Javier, I'm glad to know he's okay. I have seen how his face has changed from the moment he competed this morning to when he got his medal. I imagine it was a little bothersome finding out he wasn't getting the silver, but the bronze. But when you got your medal hanging on your neck, Javier, your life changes, your perspective changes, everything changes. And you see your life pass before your eyes, all that effort have paid off to be there. I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.
J: Thank you very much, Paloma, really. You couldn't have said it better.
P: I can imagine that. Yesterday I was tweeting, well on Whatsapp with Laura, your sister and I know Antonio and Enriqueta, your parents are there. And I imagine they were very nervous until the moment you came out, until the 3 quads happened, but then there were only 2. But the suffering and sacrifice that, those parents, that family has done. The isolation that Javier has gone through in the last few months to get to this day, Feb 17. Today was the day. Starting from now on, I don't know, I hope he goes to Worlds in Milan. And that afterwards he focuses on living his life and doing whatever he wants. But this is a way of closing it all like the champion he is. Then he can set his life in order and we can enjoy him in Spain, since he's been 8-9 years overseas, he can show us everything he's learned and that he becomes an example to the kids. We see that now already.
I: Do you feel like a pioneer Javi?
J: (laughs) Well there's still a lot of work left to do in this sport. I think we stall have a lot to do to get to the level that I have today, but I have never thought of it to be impossible.
I: Paloma was wondering if you'll be at Worlds. Are you still undecided? Have you made up your mind? I understand that you said that if you got medal at the Games it was more likely you wouldn't go. But I don't know if your perspective has changed.
J: I need to sit down with my coaches, talk it through. And after that we will decide what we'll do, if we''l go to Worlds, if we won't. It's a decision we have to make together and I have to find the strength to go back to training for almost a month and get to Worlds. It's also a very important event and we have to be well prepared.
I: What Paloma said earlier I assume it's a reality for you. You want to live your life beyond all those months thinking about this day. But I don't know which desire will be stronger in you: the desire to break off from it and try your hand at other things that your artistic ability will allow you to do in the future, or if you still like competing.
J: I've spend 20 years dedicating myself solely to skating, it's been a long time doing just one thing. The past few years at the elite, focusing only in your competition, the nerves, the pressure, it makes it all harder and more complicated. But as Paloma said there will be time to enjoy, time that I'm looking forward to because after spending so much time focused on one thing I've missed things, spending time at home, with my people, my family and it's something I miss.
I: Paloma, anything else for Javi?
P: That he enjoys this. I am very happy for him. A shame I couldn't narrate it, it wasn't our turn this time. But as a sports commentator, narrating the success of Spanish athletes it's always satisfying. There is an unavoidable emotional plus, you have a hard time, you sweat, you get tachycardia, but we try to look at it a bit objectively and Javier's career has been impeccable. Vancouver was his first experience, in Sochi there was that mistake with the salchows, but he is so down to Earth, centered, the head set on his shoulders, he has an insurmountable family environment who always gives him the best advice. And now what he has to do enjoy it, regardless of what he does, he will always be recognized as one of the best Spanish athletes in recent times, there's ben 3 or 4 really good. And he's gotten what Spain had failed to achieve, in I don't know how many years we only had 2 medals from the Ochoa siblings and now in these Games we got 2 medals, go figure.
I: Pipe, something else for Javi?
P: (I want to) Congratulate him, of course. And I'm curious how did last night go, between the SP and FS, after seeing everything (the standings), were you able to sleep? Who was the last person you talked to? What did he/she say? How was last night before adding this achievement to your career?
J: Quite relaxed, I was in the village, in my room. And after having dinner I went to bed early because I had to get up at 6 am to practice so there wasn't much we could do. And the last person I talked to was my girl who is also here in Pyeongchang, I talked to her before going to sleep.
I: Very good. Did you see all the messages? All the people that were awake in Spain watching you? All your fellow athletes keeping track of the SP, that were congratulating you sending you their support? It was out of this world.
J: I'm not going to lie...I haven't even gotten to the Village yet. (laughs) But when I have the time I would love to take a look because that's special, too.
I: This is a tremendous success for Spanish sports and for you in particular. You're a centered guy, as Paloma said, transparent, tough on yourself.
P: A crack, he's a crack.
I: You're a phenomenon and you represent us incredibly well. I send you a big hug, enjoy your dinner and have a wonderful time, okay?
J: Thank you very much guys.
(They said goodbye)
They start talking about how they knew Javier would win a medal, it wasn't by chance. Paloma said he had to fight for it because the younger skaters do tons of quads, and score very high TES. But this is figure skating and the artistic part is not as developed in them and it's an important aspect that pays off because veterans like Yuzuru and Javi won the medals. Paloma says that these two made wonderful programs, they can retire at peace, they have done everything, left their mark and that the other skaters use these 4 years to grow and have the charisma these two have. She said that after the SP it was up to him to keep that medal, regardless of what the others did. She said she cried in the ceremony
.
That's just me, I know...
to Brian Orser, Proud Papa, Coach of the Year?! I am in awe of how he has coached two of the top men skaters in the world through two Olympics, ending with both Javi and Yuzu on the podium this time. Wow. I take my hat off to him (and Tracy, too!).
They (jokingly) said, "well deserved, right?" and he agreed because it's been a matter of great effort to get the medal. They asked him for a message for the children, he told them to keep fighting, to keep working, that nothing's impossible and together they will be able to make figure skating and winter sports grow (in Spain). They asked him if he would consider going to the next Games and he said he would be too old by then, he wants to decide if he'll go to Worlds first and then the following season. They asked him what his body was asking for, he said it was asking for a few days of rest, afterwards he'll talk to his coaches and decide what's next. They asked if he thought the Games were his last competition, and he said he is considering on going to another event, surely not other Olympics, probably not another entire season but he will most likely compete again. They asked him if he will head back to Korea to carry the Spanish flag at the closing ceremony, he said he will go back for the Gala, then he will return to Madrid, and regarding the flag they haven't told him anything about it. 
