(24 Jan 2014)  It’s been almost two weeks since the U.S. Olympic figure skating team was selected at the 2014 U.S. Championships at the TD Center in Boston, a group that has proven, since that time, they are not yet about celebration, but instead intent on doing everything in their power to make a golden impression in Sochi next month.

Rather than whooping it up over earning a coveted berth on the 2014 Olympic squad, the entire lot of these top figure skating contenders instead went home to resume training for Sochi.

“I took some time to revel in the moment,” said Jeremy Abbott, the veteran 28 year old two-time U.S. champion who claimed his third title and an Olympic spot in Boston. “As soon as I got off the podium, I was looking forward to the next [competition.]”

With Sochi right on the horizon, Abbott, who is based in Detroit, along with virtually all of his fellow U.S. Olympic team members, seem to be more focused than ever in regard to representing their country well on the global front.

“I really want to skate my best and give myself an opportunity to be on the podium,” said Abbott, who skated the short program of his life in Boston, breaking his own personal, as well as a U.S. Championship record. “I’m looking to skate the same way as I did in Boston, if not as well or better.”

Abbott’s mindset certainly seems to reflect the collective mentality of the 2014 U.S. Olympic figure skating team, who are a formidable force heading into Sochi, especially based upon their outstanding series of performances in Boston.

This type of appealing storyline, whereby young U.S. athletes are prepping themselves for the most famous sporting battle of our contemporary culture over in Russia, has added the so-called fuel to the burgeoning Olympic fire that has been growing among the entire American community as of late, including many of those who live and work here in Greenwich.

No doubt, the significance of the Olympics, a global event in which the best athletes from countries all around the world face off against one another to see who reigns supreme every four years, is something that seems to be in the mindset of this elite American contingent of skaters.

Alex Shibutani, 22, a former Greenwich resident who attended Brunswick School and who also qualified for the Sochi Olympic team with his sister Maia, 19, by earning bronze at the 2014 U.S. Championships in ice dancing, said there was nothing bigger than the honor of representing America on an Olympic level.

“The sport has a unifying quality about it and I guess I have the romantic notion that for two weeks, [the Olympics] bring the world together,” said Shibutani, who scored the 2011 World bronze medal with his sister. (The two currently live and train in Canton, Michigan.) “The opportunity to represent our country is something we take very seriously.”

Shibutani and his teammates not only seem to understand the magnitude and significance of this celebrated two-week international event, but honor the importance of their roles as goodwill athletic ambassadors for the U.S.

“It’s not lost on us the magnitude of this event,” said Maia Shibutani, who had attended Greenwich Academy and had won the Alis McCurdy Cup at the Dorothy Hamill Town Competition for showing promise and talent. “To qualify for the Olympic team is a dream come true.”

Of course, the Olympic Games are much more than a huge goodwill global gathering of the world’s best athletes, but also serve as a forum to inspire people all walks of life around the world with its many fascinating storylines, characters, situations and dramas.

“It’s the most special time in our lives as athletes and we hope that our skating reaches beyond politics,” said Evan Bates, who was second with his partner, Madison Chock, in ice dancing at the U.S. Championships, who lives and trains outside of Detroit with the iconic Igor Sphilband. “[The Olympics] make you swell with pride to be an American.”

Their venerable teammates, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the reigning two-time World titlists who claimed their sixth consecutive national ice dance championship in Boston and are gold medal favorites going into Sochi, agree and said their focus is to ‘skate for gold.’

Meanwhile, this troupe has made it clear they will not let any recent terrorist threats affect their training or mindset and are leaving security issues up to the appropriate people.

“We’re not going to be focused on those kinds of things,” said Bates in a January 22 teleconference. “We’re going to trust in the U.S. Olympic committee and Russia to handle [these matters.]”

Jason Brown, the 19 year-old Illinois native who stunned the American skating community with his silver-medal finish in Boston seems to be as optimistic as ever about competing in Sochi.

“My main focus is to enjoy the experience and soak it up and compete to the best of my ability,” said Brown, who brought the TD Arena crowd in Boston to its feet with his flawless free skate to ‘Riverdance.’ “I want to compete in the way I know I’m capable of doing.”

Brown, a two-time World junior bronze medalist, has become one of the most popular contenders on the domestic front due to his crowd-pleasing victory at the U.S. Championships and could very well pull off a medal finish in Sochi.

“This year has taught me anything is possible,” said Brown, who was eighth at the 2013 U.S. Championships. “My coach [Kori Ade] and choreographer [Rohene Ward] also told me this and as the year progressed I started to believe it more and more and I know that there’s so much more that I have to give.”

In looking at this fine troupe of athletes, who are all about strength, focus, a positive mindset and honoring their country and people through their skills, the U.S. certainly seems to be in good standing as it gears up for Sochi.

On this optimistic note, let the Games soon begin.