After fall, Jeremy Abbott shows grit and finishes short program

By
Chris Estrada,

By
Chris Estrada

Published February 13, 2014 06:52 AM

Sochi Olympics Figure Skating — Jeremy Abbott of the United States reacts after competing in the men’s short program figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

In today’s men’s figure skating short program - an event that began with the withdrawal of Russian star Yevgeny Plushenko - U.S. skater Jeremy Abbott took a hard fall on his opening quad toe jump that left him down on the ice and against the boards for several seconds.

The four-time and reigning U.S. national champion got up off the ice, his face marked with pain and his hand holding his side. But as the music continued on, he chose to keep going.

As the crowd at Iceberg Skating Palace clapped along to the beat, Abbott showed Olympic-sized determination as he finished out his program clean.

WATCH: Abbott finishes after frightening fall

Upon completion, the crowd gave him what Nick McCarvel of NBCOlympics.com called on Twitter “maybe the loudest cheering we’ve heard for a non-Russian” during these Sochi Olympics.

Maybe the loudest cheering we've heard for a non-Russian this #Sochi2014 as crowd applauds #Abbott's effort pic.twitter.com/YQs4e43A4U
— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) February 13, 2014

In a post-skate interview with NBC’s Andrea Joyce, Abbott said that those cheers were what spurred him on.

“The second I stood up and the crowd just started screaming - I had to finish,” he said. “In my mind, I was like, ‘Do I go to the referee? Where do I go?’ I was kind of in a big jumble and in a lot of pain.

“So when I heard the crowd [cheering] behind me, I was like, ‘I have to finish this for them and I have to do this for them.’”