'If you don’t think what I do is not hard, you’re a damn idiot': Angry figure skater Jeremy Abbott lashes out after falling in Sochi saying he wants to give critics who call him a choker, the finger

Jeremy Abbott, 28, attempted a quadruple jump in the men's short program on Thursday but instead fell flat on his face

He slid to the boards and grabbed his side in pain - before pulling himself to his feet and finishing the rest of the routine flawlessly

He says people who haven't skated in his boots before millions of people should keep their opinions to themselves



US figure-skating champion Jeremy Abbott lashed out at his critics in a foul-mouthed rant after his and teammate Jason Brown's spectacular slump at the Sochi Olympics.

Olympic champion Evan Lysacek did not defend his title and Abbott and pony-tailed teen Brown failed to sparkle in the Iceberg Skating Palace, to leave the United States off the men's podium for the first time since the 1998 Nagano Games.

Brown, 19, finished ninth and 28-year-old Abbott 12th, although both got bronze with the USA in the new team event.

Oops: Jeremy Abbott falls after failing to complete a jump in the Men's Short Program on Thursday Smack: Abbott, who has already won a bronze in the group event, smashed onto the ice during the trick 'I just want to put my middle finger in the air and say a big 'F-you' to everyone who has ever said that to me because they've never stood in my shoes and they've never had to do what I've had to do,' said Abbott, who will be remembered more for spectacular tumbles in Sochi. Abbott opened the team challenge on the first day of competition with an error-strewn short programme and things didn't get better for him in the individual event. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Unsuitable: High-tech speedskating suits blamed for Team... You made it! Peruvian cross-country skier Roberto Carcelen... Share this article Share The skater from Aspen, Colorado suffered a nasty fall attempting a quad jump in the short programme. He lay in pain for ten seconds as the music continued to play, before pulling himself up, rubbing his hip and gliding back into the centre of the ice to finish and qualify in 15h place for the free skate final.

Crash landing: Abbott slides across the ice after his spectacular fall with a grimace of pain on his face

Smash: The 28-year-old crashed into the boards and grabbed his hip while howling in pain

'Nobody has to stand centre ice in front of a million people and put an entire career on the line for eight minutes of their life when they've been doing it for 20-some years,' he said, after placing eighth in the free skate for an overall 12th position between the two programmes.

'And if you think that that's not hard, then you're a damn idiot.

'I'm proud to be standing here. I'm a four-time national champion. I'm a two-time Olympian and no one can take that away from me.

'So some people can handle it better than others, but everyone has that mental struggle, everyone goes through the same doubts. I am not alone. They just come at different times and different moments. Some people have their moment at the Olympics, and some have theirs at the national championships.'



'So whatever other people have to say about me, that's their own problem because I'm freaking proud of what I've done and I'm not going to apologize for any of it.'

He's up! Abbott limps away from the boards - his face creased with pain - but he is determined to carry on

Fighter: Both Russian and American spectators broke into applause as Abbott finished up his routine