The cameraman who skates backward to capture Olympic triumph and defeat

MILAN (AP) — 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.

“To be the first person out on the ice at the end of their performance is such a privilege, and I definitely want them to feel their feelings,″ Cowan said in an interview before the pairs short program on Sunday. “The ice is a sacred place for a skater.”

At no moment during these Games were the contrasting emotions starker and Cowan’s job more delicate than after American skater Ilia Malinin’s two free program skates.

The 21-year-old punched excitedly at Cowan’s camera after he aced his long program in the team competition, helping Team USA clinch the gold medal. After Malinin botched his final free in the singles competition, Cowan kept his distance as the skater crumbled into a grimace of abject disappointment.

“I’m there to tell the audience, ‘It’s going to be OK, he’s still here.’ You know, you finish a program, you’re still alive. There’ll be another day. To see Ilia’s emotion really is just part of his story,” Cowan said.

While on-ice cameras have long been part of speed skating and hockey, Cowan has helped create the niche for figure skating.

After retiring from competitive skating in 2011, he worked in ballroom dancing and was inspired by how television motivated amateurs to learn new dances. He wanted the same for skating and so in 2018 he started his company, On Ice Perspectives, since when he has since been creating viral video moments from all levels of figure skating across his social media platforms.

At the Milan Cortina Winter Games he is working for the Olympic Broadcasting Services, which provides footage to national broadcasting rights holders. He has filmed three U.S. Championships, the 2021 world exhibition gala, and ice shows internationally.

Cowan loves when skaters engage with him as they leave the ice. Many realize he has a microphone and send messages to loved ones. They regularly make heart signs with their hands.

“For that brief window at the end of the program, when you get to take in the audience by yourself, by having this silent camera slowly available to you, it gives a special moment that we have never been able to capture before,'' he said.

Cowan trains with Pilates and yoga to handle the camera while matching athletes’ speed. He has designed his own rig, starting with a light-weight steady camera mounted on an electronic stabilized gimbal, maintaining a level horizon no matter how much wind he catches. He’s added manual focus, cinema zoom and wireless transmission.

Besides the skate-on and skate-off moments during competition, he is also on the ice for the medals ceremonies and will be there for the closing gala when the top competitors perform their crowd-pleasing signature moves.

The gala is a unique challenge, as he will have to read their moves to both stay out of their way and capture the moment. It’s a skill that competitive skaters pick up from training alongside teammates and competitors.

His skating abilities and familiarity with the athletes and their programs make it work. And to blend into the icy background as much as possible, Cowan has been experimenting with both gray and white skating looks.

“I’ve trained myself to be able to follow skaters without knowing the choreography,” he said. “They know they don’t have to look out for me, and I’m going to do everything I can to stay out of their way because safety is my number one priority. The perfect compliment I get is when the skaters say they didn’t even realize I was out there.”

Jordan Cowan operates the steadicam before the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Jordan Cowan operates the steadicam before the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jordan Cowan operates the steadicam before the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jordan Cowan operates the steadicam before the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Much of California on Monday was preparing to be hit by a powerful winter storm carrying treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

Jacob Spender, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento, urged people to take precautions in the coming days, advising them to pack winter safety kits, especially if they plan to travel as winter storm warnings were in place from southwest Oregon to the Southern California border.

Pacific Gas & Electric said in a news release that it was using artificial intelligence and machine-learning enhanced weather models to help determine where to send crews and equipment like power poles and transformers ahead of the storm. The utility company stressed that, unlike most winter storms, the anticipated weather event will “progress in several phases,” with multiple storm systems moving through the region that will likely intensify the risks from wind, rain and snow.

Meanwhile, California's Office of Emergency Services said it is placing fire and rescue personnel and resources in areas most at risk for flooding, mud and debris flows.

Other states on Monday were bracing for different threatening weather events. Residents in parts of eastern Colorado received warnings Monday that they could be in fire danger due to a combination of abnormally high temperatures, gusty winds and dry conditions. The risks are expected to continue further into the week as gusts up to 60 mph (96 kph) are likely to hit the Colorado eastern plains on Tuesday. Parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas were also under red flag warnings.

Back in California, rain had already begun Sunday in the San Francisco Bay Area, sparking officials to warn of potential flood risks.

Forecasters said the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, northern Shasta County — including portions of Interstate 5 — and parts of the state's Coast Range could see up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday.

The heavy snow, wind and low visibility could also make travel conditions dangerous to near impossible, forecasters added.

“It has seemed ‘spring-like’ for a large part of 2026, but winter is set to show it’s not quite done yet,” the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post urging residents to stay aware of the storm.

To the south, Los Angeles area residents in some neighborhoods scarred by last year’s devastating wildfires were under an evacuation warning through Tuesday because of the potential for mud and debris flows. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she’s ordered emergency crews and city departments to be ready to respond to any problems.

FILE - Dr. Gabe Lewis, a research scientist, measures snow depth and mass to calculate density and snow water equivalent at Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs, Calif. on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Brontë Wittpenn /San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)

FILE - South Lake Tahoe resident and international fruit importer Meg Dowley skis Palisades at Kirkwood Ski Resort in Kirkwood, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)