Jordan Cowan hoists his camera mount and glides across the Olympic rink as figure skating competitors warm up and, later, take their bows. Dressed in an ice-white tuxedo, he is as inconspicuous as possible.
The former U.S. competitive ice dancer is the first camera operator on figure skating ice in Olympic history, capturing intimate moments that the overhead or sideboard cameras cannot. While he isn’t on the ice during the routines, Cowan skates backwards after each program to record up close what is often a raw moment of pure joy or disappointment for broadcast globally to viewers at home and on big screens for the arena spectators.
