OLYMPICS: Speed skating-Giovannini delivers 'night-night' celebration after Italy stun US for team pursuit glory

MILAN – Andrea Giovannini promised a teammate he would copy Steph Curry’s iconic “night-night” celebration if Italy won the men’s team pursuit at the Winter Olympics. After a grueling final against the United States on Tuesday, he delivered on that promise.

The Italian trio of Davide Ghiotto, Giovannini, and Michele Malfatti stunned the world champions and world record holders, crossing the finish line in three minutes, 39.20 seconds—an impressive 4.51 seconds ahead of the Americans—sending the Milano Speed Skating Stadium into a frenzy.

The crowd’s roar grew louder with each lap, as Italy surged from what seemed a fading position with four laps to go.

The victory also lifted Italy to the top of the speed skating medal table at Milano Cortina, with three golds and a bronze.

For 32-year-old Giovannini, the triumph was the reward for weeks spent watching his teammates shine while he waited anxiously for his own chance.

“I did it [the celebration] because in these first few weeks I didn’t compete. I saw my teammates getting results, and I couldn’t wait for my moment to come,” Giovannini said. “I had a lot of tension. I thank the team psychologist who helped me manage it.”

Giovannini, a devoted sports fan, drew inspiration from Curry’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the NBA star hit a decisive three-pointer against France in the men’s basketball final to lead the U.S. to victory.

“I watched the Paris 2024 final where he handled the great pressure and closed it with the three-pointer, doing the night-night gesture,” Giovannini said, referring to Curry’s signature celebration where he presses his hands together beside his tilted head.

A few days before the race, with nerves building, Giovannini shared his plan with a teammate.

“I told him: ‘Look, if I manage it well, I’d like to celebrate with the night-night if we win. This gesture represents managing tension, and I wanted to emulate Steph Curry.’”

Even the U.S. skaters couldn’t help but smile. Asked about Giovannini’s nod to Curry, Emery Lehman said: “We didn’t see that. It’s better than getting two middle fingers from the Russians four years ago.”

Lehman’s comment referred to the Beijing 2022 semifinals, when Russian skater Daniil Aldoshkin raised both middle fingers toward the crowd after beating the U.S. to advance. Aldoshkin, then 20, later apologized. -Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in MilanEditing by Toby Davis/Reuters