Advertisement

The story behind the infamous Winter Olympics streaker

Did you see the guy who ran onto the ice at the Olympic speed skating track wearing only a tutu (and shoes) on Friday in PyeongChang?

If you’re a big sports fan, you may have recognized him.

That was none other than Mark Roberts, a man with more streaking experience than most. In fact, when Yahoo Sports linked up with Roberts in September ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Baltimore Ravens game in London (Roberts is from the UK), he said he had streaked at 561 events in 22 different countries at that point.

It’s at least 562 now:

Roberts told Yahoo Sports he streaks for the thrill of it all.

“There’s 65,000 people in the stadium all at once going crazy, man,” he said. “The energy, I felt it. It’s like, ‘Oh wow.’ It’s just unreal.”

Perhaps his most notable streak — in the U.S., at least — came at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston right after the infamous halftime show with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Roberts made sure to strike during a stoppage in play. Any other time would be unprofessional, he explained to Yahoo Sports:

“I can’t do it during the game,” Roberts said. “It has to be before the game is in play. I don’t want to interrupt the game … I’m a professional.”

That streak ended when he took a hit from New England Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham. Roberts’ streak in PyeongChang came to a less violent conclusion.

– – – – – – –

Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

More Olympics from Yahoo Sports: