MILAN (AP) — Speedskater Andrea Giovannini knew he was going to celebrate with Steph Curry’s “Night night” celebration if he could help Italy beat the favored U.S. in the men’s team pursuit final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday.
Giovannini just didn’t want to tell teammates Davide Ghiotto and Michele Malfatti ahead of time, in case things didn’t go well. Not a problem. The Italians claimed the gold medal by finishing 4 1/2 seconds faster than the American world record-holders, and that margin was so large that Giovannini pulled his two white-gloved hands together and pressed them to the side of his head at the close, just the way NBA star Curry does.
“The last lap, we were in control,” Giovannini said, “and I was just waiting for that finish line to emulate Steph.”
Giovannini said he remembered watching on TV during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics when Curry did his signature move after one of his late 3-pointers sealed a 98-87 victory for the U.S. against France to win gold in men’s basketball.
“Emblematic of having cold blood,” Giovannini said.
So a couple of days ago, Giovannini was chatting with his Olympic roommate, speedskating teammate Francesco Betti, and told him he planned to go with the “Night night.”
“It happened,” Giovannini said. “I was worried I would forget.”
One of the other team pursuit gold medalists, Ghiotto, said later he hadn’t seen what Giovannini did — and actually wasn’t even sure what the whole thing was about, because he wasn’t aware of who Curry is.
Hearing that, Giovannini joked: “Tonight we’ll watch a basketball game.”
The American trio of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepurian — who got the bronze in the event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and set the world record in November — weren’t aware of Giovannini’s gesture.
“It’s better,” Lehman said with a big laugh, “than getting two middle fingers from the Russians four years ago.”
___
AP Sports Writer Daniella Matar contributed to this report.
___
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
