“I’m in,” I told Heath. “But only if you are.”
He took Bella’s hand. “Are yousurethis is what you want?”
She smiled and held out her other hand, reaching for me.
“I’m sure,” she said. “Screw baby showers and push presents. All I want is gold.”
Jane Currer:I had reservations about Shaw and Rocha representing the United States at the Olympics, given their…reputations. But it wasn’t up to me.
During the official Sochi Olympic figure skating team announcement at the 2014 National Championships, Katarina Shaw, Heath Rocha, Francesca Gaskell, and Evan Kovalenko wave and smile in front of a backdrop covered with the U.S. Olympic team logo.
Ellis Dean:Imayhave put in a good word with some friends on the selection committee. Whether or not they ended up on the podium, Kat and Heath competing in Sochi was solid gold content for Kiss & Cry.
Francesca Gaskell:I was just thrilled to finally—finally—be going to the Olympics.
Garrett Lin:Bella’s doctors advised her not to fly, so we were stuck in Boston.
Kirk Lockwood:After Nationals, I reached out right away.
Garrett Lin:Kirk really came through for us. He arranged ice time for Kat and Heath at his family’s rink, and put Bella and me up in his guest house.
Kirk Lockwood:It was the least I could do, for Sheila’s kids.
Garrett Lin:I thought competing in the Olympic Games was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life. Until I tried to keep my sister on strict bed rest.
Cellphone video shows Bella Lin sitting in a plush recliner chair beside the rink at the Lockwood Performance Center while Katarina and Heath run through their short dance. Bella has a microphone, so she can give them instructions without raising her voice.
“Those edge changes were sloppy as hell,” she says. “Run it again.”
“Don’t you think it’s time for a break?” comes Garrett’s voice from behind the camera.
Bella sticks her tongue out at her brother, then says into the mic, “Again!”
Ellis Dean:They went on a total media blackout. No photo shoots, no interviews, no heartwarming NBC Sports packages.
Kirk Lockwood:My bosses at the network were pissed off, but I had to respect it.
Inez Acton:As far as I know, I was the only reporter they spoke to, and that was just to contribute a quote for a story I wrote about Russia’s anti-LGBT legislation.
A screenshot from feminist blog The Killjoy shows an image of Katarina and Heath, with the headline “Shaw and Rocha Say Russia Should Be ‘Ashamed’ of ‘Bigoted’ Anti-Gay Laws—So Why Are Their Teammates So Tight-Lipped?”
Ellis Dean:Saying homophobia is bad is literally theleastthey could do, but it was more than most of the American skaters were willing to say.
Francesca Gaskell and Evan Kovalenko are interviewed by NBC. When asked about the controversy, Francesca says, “We don’t think it’s our place as athletes to get political.” Evan nods and adds, “We’re just really looking forward to competing in Sochi.”
Francesca Gaskell:Once and for all, let me be clear: I haveplentyof gay friends.
Garrett Lin:Usually athletes travel a week or more before the Games start, so they can get acclimated and recover from jet lag. But Kat and Heath wanted to maximize their training time with Bella, so they kept pushing their departure.
Kirk Lockwood:They missed the whole first week, including the opening ceremony. Up until the day before they left, they were changing things—in the free dance especially. They must have tried twenty different musical tracks for that program.
Another cellphone video. Katarina and Heath take the opening positions for their free dance.
Garrett Lin:Kat was the one who finally found the right song. Though I guess Bella had played it for her first, almost a year before.
Low piano chords play: the opening of “The Last Time” by Taylor Swift and Gary Lightbody.
Garrett Lin:With that music, everything finally clicked—the choreography, the emotion, their connection with each other. But going to the Olympic Games with a program they’d never done in competition before…it was a big risk.
