BEIJING (AP) 鈥� With the interview over, Brianna Decker nestled her immobilized left leg on the seat of her scooter, gripped the handlebars and sped out of the room under the push-power of her right foot.
The three-time United States women鈥檚 hockey Olympian surely couldn't have envisioned zipping around Wukesong Sports Centre on four wheels as opposed to two skates.
Decker鈥檚 Beijing Games ended shortly after they began, 9:28 into the American team鈥檚 preliminary round-opening , when her left leg gave out upon being tripped from behind by Ronja Savolainen. The force of the trip combined with the fall led to Decker breaking her fibula and tearing the ligaments in her ankle.
鈥淚 knew right away I broke something,鈥� said Decker, who immediately began yelping in anguish while her legs were tangled with Savolainen. 鈥淚n the moment, I was like, `Yeah, it鈥檚 going to (stink), and I know I鈥檓 going to get some scans back that I鈥檓 not going to be happy with.'鈥�
And yet, much like the swelling has begun to subside, so has the tender pain of the memories one week later.
While Decker can鈥檛 be on the ice to help, the top-line center has shifted her attention to the only objective she and her teammates had upon arriving in China 鈥� repeating as Olympic champions.
鈥淔or it to happen the first game was super disappointing,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut at least our team鈥檚 not out of the tournament. We can still go on and compete and hopefully bring home a gold medal for the U.S. again.鈥�
The Americans (3-1), coming off a preliminary round-closing , open the playoffs against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Friday. Barring a major upset, it鈥檚 highly anticipated the U.S. will face its cross-border rival, Canada, in the gold-medal final next week.
At 31 and one of the team鈥檚 assistant captains, Decker is serving as an extra coach in watching games from above, while also helping to continue mentoring the team鈥檚 younger players in handling the pressures of their first Olympic experience.
鈥淔ortunately, I can still have an influence in the locker room,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think the coaches see the game different than someone does in the stands, and the players see the game different when they鈥檙e playing. So it鈥檚 just another eye.鈥�
Decker has put off surgery until returning to North America. In the meantime, she is grateful to have received condolences from numerous athletes, including speedskater Britanny Bowe and skier Nina O鈥橞rien, who broke her tibia and fibula during a giant slalom run this week.
Decker鈥檚 hockey teammates have done their part to keep up her spirits.
鈥淲e play cards a lot and stuff like that,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut honestly, when we have games and practices, that鈥檚 the best for me. I definitely don鈥檛 want to be away from the rink.鈥�
Decker鈥檚 presence is immeasurable, team captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said.
鈥淗er leadership shines through each game we play,鈥� Schofield said. 鈥淚t just shows how much she means to this team and how she鈥檚 able to still lead through some of the darkest times of her personal life.鈥�
Where Decker is sorely missed is on the ice, with her play-making presence difficult to replace in centering a line alongside two of the team鈥檚 top offensive threats in Amanda Kessel and Alex Carpenter. Her absence factors into why the Americans have had , which was evident in the loss to Canada. The U.S. scored twice on 53 shots on net.
No worries, said Decker.
鈥淎s a group, we just got to tweak some things going forward, obviously burying those rebounds and making sure that we鈥檙e capitalizing on them,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I think there鈥檚 no harm that we had 50 shots. That means offensively we were there and we were moving the puck well and getting those opportunities.鈥�
It was still difficult to resist the urge to jump out of the stands and suit up in watching the U.S. trailing in the third period.
鈥淲ould I rather be playing? Of course,鈥� Decker said. 鈥淏ut at least I鈥檓 still here and able to help the team in some way.鈥�
___
More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
John Wawrow, The Associated Press
