SOCHI, Russia — To US figure skater Jason Brown, everything on the ice is a blur.
He prefers it that way.
Brown wears eyeglasses, though he says his prescription is not that strong. He eschews them when skating, however, and it works.
“It really helps me block things out,” he says. “I see the audience and the rink as a whole.”
Brown had tried skating with glasses years ago, and then with contacts last year at the Junior Grand Prix event in the Iceberg. He soon realized that wouldn’t work because it made things too vivid.
“I had to ask Kori (Ade, his coach) why the lights reflected off the ice,” Brown recalls.
Brown believes he concentrates far better by not being able to focus on people in the crowd and their reactions. Ade also sees that as an advantage for the 19-year-old skater.
“We’ve termed it calculated oblivion,” Ade says. “It’s a strategy. Jason is such a pleaser and doesn’t want to let anyone down. If he could see someone in the crowd with a sour face because he just bit into a cold hot dog, he would take it personally.”