The Gold Standard, Day 7: It’s Rippon’s world, we’re just living in it

Adam-Rippon-of-the-United-States-performs-during-the-men's-short-program-figure-skating-in-the-Gangneung-Ice-Arena-at-the-2018-Winter-Olympics-in-Gangneung,-South-Korea,-Friday,-Feb.-16,-2018.-(Julie-Jacobson/AP)

Adam Rippon of the United States performs during the men's short program figure skating in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Julie Jacobson/AP)

It may not be possible to catch all the best moments in a single day of the Olympic Games, but we’re going to try. Every day, we’ll award medals for standout achievements at (and around) Pyeongchang 2018 and feats that may or may not be recognized on the podium (and may or may not even be of an athletic nature).

Day 7 of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games featured another episode of Adam’s World, a pile of Poohs, and a pretty awesome preview of what’s to come.

Gold medal for deserving your own reality show goes to…

American figure skater Adam Rippon, who was back in the spotlight on Thursday with a captivating short program.

The 28-year-old first-time Olympian, who helped the U.S. win bronze in the team event earlier this week, is embracing the spotlight — the spotlight loves him right back.

Rippon finished the day in seventh place with his score of 87.95 in the short program and will skate again Friday. He has quickly become the darling of these Games, no doubt, but also so much more than that.

(In all seriousness, we don’t actually know if Rippon will be getting a television show, but we do know we’d definitely watch it.)

Gold medal for biggest Winnie the Pooh collection goes to…

Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who posted a whopping 111.68 in the men’s short program to lead the pack after Thursday’s competition.

And then came the Poohs.

Apparently, the Pooh bear tradition goes back quite a while, maybe as far as 2010, to when fans first saw Hanyu’s Winnie-covered tissue box at a competition.

It seems like it’s become a lucky charm of sorts.

Now, wherever Hanyu skates, Pooh plushes are rained down on him by his fans. And when you have a showing as strong as Thursday’s was, well… you get the idea.

Gold medal for getting us super hyped about Big Air goes to…

All the snowboarders documenting their test runs ahead of the big event, which is set to make its Olympic debut on Day 10 of the Games. The event, described simply as an “extreme version of slopestyle,” features a single 49-metre ramp with a 40-degree maximum slope angle, giving boarders plenty of air time to show off an assortment of crazy flips and tricks.

Take a look at these pictures and tell us you’re not excited, too:

We out here – big air still to come. Let’s do this #pyeongchang2018 #lumilautaliitto #olympicteamfi #bigair

237 Likes, 3 Comments – Finnish Snowboard Association (@lumilautaliitto) on Instagram: “We out here – big air still to come. Let’s do this #pyeongchang2018 #lumilautaliitto…”

First day peepin’ the Big Air… Excited to ride more this week! #olympics #pyeongchang2018 #bigair #dontcare #havingfun #jafreespirit

6,572 Likes, 56 Comments – Jamie Anderson (@jamieanderson) on Instagram: “First day peepin’ the Big Air… Excited to ride more this week! #olympics #pyeongchang2018 #bigair…”

First practice of the @olympics big air today was nice!! Now can’t wait to ride it again tomorrow!!! photo:@chriswitwicki #snowboarding #olympics

5,325 Likes, 27 Comments – Max Parrot (@maxparrot) on Instagram: “First practice of the @olympics big air today was nice!! Now can’t wait to ride it again…”

First up will be the women’s qualifications, which airs at 7:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 18.

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