Team USA & Team Russia Skaters Narrowly Avoid A Collision At Olympics Warmups

Now that was a close call.

Skating duos from Team USA and Team Russia nearly collided during warmups for the ice rhythm dance competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing this week.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donahue of the United States and Nikita Katsalapov and Victoria Sinitsina of the Russian Olympic Committee narrowly avoided a nasty spill when the two unwittingly got too close on the ice rink.

NBC commentators pointed out the reaction on Katsalapov’s face and in his body language in a slowed-down video of the brief physical contact.

“Just got a chill,” one of the commentators said of the icy look and hand motion, which you can see in the clip below:

“It’s really no one’s fault,” one of the commentators said. “Everyone’s just trying to get those elements in, get those nerves out and it’s hard to predict where each team is heading. But that can shake you on a warmup.”

“It does happen,” the other commentator added. “But you can’t ever show fear out there on an ice dance warmup. It’s all about dominance.”

Team USA’s Hubbell and Donohue ultimately ended up placing first in the competition — which was a qualifying event, not one for which medals were awarded — while Russia’s Sinitsina and Katsalapov finished second.

Check out more photos from the Olympics below:

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Katsalapov and Sinitsina finished last in the qualifier.