The world-record-holding U.S. men’s speedskaters were put to bed in the gold-medal matchup of the men’s team pursuit event on Wednesday — and one of their opponents made sure they knew it.
Italian speedskater Andrea Giovannini channeled Steph Curry and did the NBA superstar’s signature “night, night” celebration after the race.
Curry famous broke out the gesture during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris en route to clinching a gold medal of his own.
After the Italian team – featuring Giovannini, Davide Ghiotto and Francesco Betti — defeated the U.S. team, with Giovannini placing his white-gloved hands against his head, as if to take a nap.
“The last lap, we were in control,” Giovannini said after the race. “And I was just waiting for that finish line to emulate Steph.
“(It’s) emblematic of having cold blood.”
Giovannini, who was on hand to watch the Warriors superstar’s hoops heroics during the 2024 Summer Games, said that he told Olympic teammate and roommate Betti about his celebration plans days earlier.
“It happened,” Giovannini said. “I was worried I would forget.”
The American team of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran – who set the world record in the event this past November –led early, but the Italians came back late in front of their home crowd to comfortably win by 4.51 seconds.
Ghiotto said that he didn’t see Giovannini’s celebration, but also admitted that he didn’t know who Curry was.
As for the Americans, they didn’t catch the taunt either, but when asked about it, Lehman said that it could’ve been worse.
“It’s better than getting two middle fingers from the Russians four years ago,” Lehman said, referring to an ugly incident that took place during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
What happened in Beijing?
During the semifinals at the Games in Beijing, Russian speedskater Daniil Aldoshkin threw up a double-bird salute after his team downed the U.S. in the men’s team pursuit.
“I threw up my hands, I have the first medal, the first Olympics,” Aldoshkin said, per RT.com. “I didn’t mean anything like that. I’m sorry if this offended anyone.”
The speedskater raised two middle fingers after passing the finish line with teammates Ruslan Zakharov and Sergey Trofimov, which secured the team’s spot in the final, which it would go on to lose against Norway.
“In speed skating, we fight against time, not against an opponent. It was purely an emotional reaction,” Zakharov said.