All eyes were on Russian curler Anastasia Bryzgalova when she took a tumble on the ice as she competed in the Curling Mixed Doubles Bronze Medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Curling, and Bryzgalova in particular, have gained an impressive following over the past few days thanks to an entirely new fan base devoted to the Olympic athlete, whose icy stare many have likened to a supermodel’s.
Videos by PopCulture.com
But during one moment of Monday’s crucial match against Norway for the bronze, Bryzgalova accidentally backed into the curling stone and fell on the ice as she shouted instructions with her curling partner and husband Alexander Krushelnitskiy in Pyeongchang.
Like a true Olympic athlete, however, she soon bounced back to secure the bronze — making the couple the first duo to win a medal in mixed doubles curling in Olympic history.
“It’s very important that we are family,” she told ESPN through a translator. “That was very important to survive yesterday’s loss just to come out here today and to make the match that we can be proud about. The fact that we are family helped us a lot.”
The pair also won the 2016 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Karlstad, Sweden.
Admirers on Twitter are taken with Bryzgalova, and have compared her features to actresses like Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox.
The Olympic medalist took up curling in 2009 after being attracted by an ad for a curling club at an ice sports complex and has a master’s degree from the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health, according to the Daily Mail.
If you don’t have any interest in Olympic Curling, you might now:
— Ryan Wolak (@Wolak22) February 8, 2018
Anastasia Bryzgalova (RUS) pic.twitter.com/DZo8N4NG6q
Russia was banned from competing as a country at the 2018 Winter Olympics after a doping scandal, but the “clean” Russian athletes — like Bryzgalova — are still allowed to compete, but as “Olympic Athletes From Russia” and in neutral colors.
Team USA (Matt and Becca Hamilton) defeated Olympic Athletes From Russia Bryzgalova and Krushelnitckii in an historic 9-3 drubbing in mixed doubles curling on Thursday. NPR notes the Russian team gifted the Americans a stuffed bear, so things appeared to be cordial.
This is the first time the Olympics have featured mixed doubles, a form of play that has been part of the world championships since 2008. The Hamiltons used their more accurate delivery to overcome the Russian pair, whose past success includes a gold medal at the 2016 world championship.
