Olympic ice skater Adam Rippon delighted millions when he took a bronze medal for Team USA at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Monday.
Skating to Coldplay’s “O” and “Arrival of the Birds” by Cinematic Orchestra, Rippon was awarded a score of 172.98, giving the team an extra eight points.
And it seems there have been some very well known faces cheering him on as he skated to success in South Korea.
ctor Reese Witherspoon (Getty Images for Turner)
Reese Witherspoon, famous her roles in the likes of Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama, took to Twitter to back the openly gay athlete.
Ahead of his performance she wrote online that he was the best reason to watch.
Rippon soon replied – and clearly couldn’t contain his excitement.
Concurring with Witherspoon’s opinion, he even hit back with an excellent new movie suggestion.
“WHEN YOURE RIGHT, YOURE RIGHT, @RWitherspoon ❤️❤️❤️,” he wrote.
“Also!! Quick movie idea for you: You (played by you) tweet me in the middle of the night at the Olympics and I (played by me) die immediately. Thoughts?”
Speaking after taking bronze in the first contest, Rippon said: “There are so many emotions when I step on the ice. I want to represent my country to the best of my abilities.
“I want to make Reese Witherspoon proud.”
A few hours later she confirmed the good news, writing to her more than two million followers: “You make me so proud! Keep making us all so happy!”
Speaking after his performance, Rippon said: “I want to throw up. I want to go over to the judges and say, ‘Can I just have a Xanax and a quick drink? I’ll be fine.’ But I kept it together.”
Canadian skater Eric Radford took gold, followed by Russia who took silver.
Radford, who is also an out gay skater, will compete again in the pairs tournament while Rippon will perform another men’s single.
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Related: Out athletes Gus Kenworthy and Adam Rippon show off their beautiful friendship
Rippon was on the Winter Olympic team in 2014 but he didn’t get the chance to compete.
Speaking about working towards the 2018 games, he said that he had “worked my entire life for this moment”.
(Getty)
“My mom has always taught me to stand up for what I believe in, and that has given my skating a greater purpose.
“So I go out there and I’m not only representing myself, I’m representing my coaches, I’m representing my country and I’m representing my teammates. So I remember that and that’s how I stay focused,” he said.
