Just 37.04 seconds. That’s how long it took Erin Jackson of the United States to race to her gold medal in the women’s 500-meter speedskating event. That’s also how long every photographer had to capture her win.
So much of the Olympics is about speed, sacrifice and emotion. Photographing the Games can sometimes take a lot of that, too.
No articles I’d read or television I’d watched could do justice to witnessing the action on the ground. My heart pounded as cross-country skiers collapsed to the ground at the finish line. A Chinese cross-country skier, Jialin Bayani, unclipped her exhausted teammate Dinigeer Yilamujiang’s bindings after a race. A Swedish skier placed his hands on the slumped-over back of J.C. Schoonmaker of the United States. I was moved to tears by these small gestures. Minutes later, I filed photos with fingertips numbed by the subfreezing cold and wind. Later that night, my lens frosted over.