Adam Rippon Went To The Olympics And Became America’s New Heartthrob

Four years ago, Adam Rippon and Mirai Nagasu were eating hamburgers on a rooftop after missing the #WinterOlympics.

Tonight, they dazzled. https://t.co/fmMl0C4Amf pic.twitter.com/CouGAilAu5

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2018

With his funny and outspoken personality, Adam Rippon is making a name for himself at the Winter Olympics. That isn’t to say his on-the-ice performances haven’t been dazzling either, but his burgeoning stardom almost never came to be. That’s what makes his rise so special. Four years ago, he was on a roof eating In-N-Out Burger with his teammate Mirai Nagasu (who became the first US woman to land the triple axel at the Olympics), stewing over the fact that he didn’t make the U.S. figure skating team. Now he’s becoming an internet darling with his routines on the ice and his quick-witted comedy routines on social media.

Rippon joins Gus Kenworthy as the only openly gay American athletes in PyeongChang, which made headlines before Rippon told USA Today that he questioned Mike Pence’s leading of the Olympic delegation, nor did he want to meet him.

“If it were before my event, I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren’t a friend of a gay person but that they think that they’re sick. I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet somebody like that.”

Rippon continued by saying he didn’t believe Pence had a “real concept of reality” and cited Pence’s outward Christianity conflicting with the actions of his runningmate Donald Trump. “To stand by some of the things that Donald Trump has said and for Mike Pence to say he’s a devout Christian man is completely contradictory,” he said. “If he’s okay with what’s being said about people and Americans and foreigners and about different countries that are being called ‘shitholes,’ I think he should really go to church.”

Not everything about Rippon’s popular run in South Korea is political. He’s honored to represent America as an openly gay man, saying: “Representing the USA is one of the greatest honors of my life and being able to do it as my authentic self makes it all so much sweeter.”

And it’s his genuinely humorous interviews and infectious personality that’s elevating him from Olympic star to a transcendent one on social media and beyond. When his career is done, he’ll have hordes of people wanting him to join Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir in the booth for commentary. He just needs to not ask for xanax and a drink during his commentary.

https://twitter.com/adaripp/status/946186899793756161

https://twitter.com/KatCalvinLA/status/962884778952478721

Most importantly, his flawless performance on the ice is what’s rallied new fans to his side. Pundits are calling his run one of the best in the Olympics thus far, with the ice in the Olympic stadium causing multiple athletes to stumble or fall during their sets, but Rippon was perfect. It has people questioning the judges.

It’s impossible to deny that Rippon’s unique combination of skills and glowing charisma will elevate him into one of the faces of figure skating once the Winter Olympics wraps. Thanks to Rippon, Nagasu, and the Shibutani siblings, the US Figure Skating team has a bronze medal.

It’s undeniable that we’ll see him front and center in Beijing in 2022.