Going to watch the Olympics to cheer on Team U.S.A. has been a dream of mine for so long, and little did I know that I would now have two countries to cheer for! My friends Ryan and Emma and I traveled by plane to Milan, Italy, wearing our Team Czechia winter hats and waving our American flags to show our support for our teams.
First up, we went to see the men's 5,000 meter speed skating. This was especially exciting, since there was an American and a Czech athlete competing! Sander Eitrem of Team Norway took the gold. Metoděj Jílek of Team Czechia won silver, with a time of 6:06.48. Both athletes beat the previous Olympic record of 6:08.84! It felt very cool to be there for that piece of Olympic history.
We also got to watch the medal ceremony. In this ceremony, they display the country flags for each of the medalists and play the national anthem for the country that won the gold medal. It was amazing to hear all of the fans from Norway sing along to their national anthem, feeling proud of the athlete representing their country.
The next day, we had some time to explore the beautiful city of Milan. Our favorite sights were the Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral), the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace), and Sforza Castle.
