Adam Rippon Decides Not to Serve as NBC Correspondent After 2018 Olympics Debut

Adam Rippon's run at the 2018 Winter Olympics has come to an end after the Team USA star failed to medal in the men's figure skating competition, and he won't be an NBC analyst for the remainder of the competition after all.

Rippon initially agreed to work for NBC as an analyst, only to change his mind overnight, according to Christine Brennan of USA Today.

Rippon explained his decision on Twitter:

"I am flattered that NBC wanted me to work as a correspondent for them here in PyeongChang. Doing this would require me to leave Team USA and move out of the Olympic Village. I don't want to do that so I had to declined the opportunity. I love being on Team USA and representing our country. My teammates were there for me during my events, and now I NEED to be there for them. I look forward to being with them, and I'm very excited for the rest of the competition. Go Team USA!!!"

Rippon became the first openly gay athlete from the United States to medal at the Winter Olympics when he helped win a bronze in the team competition earlier in the week. He wasn't able to add to his incredible showing in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with another medal.

He posted a score of 259.36 after the free skate Friday night (Saturday morning in Pyeongchang), finishing 10th place in a loaded field that featured all three medalists from 2014. Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu took home the gold medal with a score of 317.85.

After coming close the last two cycles, the 28-year-old finally earned his first opportunity to compete in the Olympics this year following a fourth-place finish in the U.S. nationals.

Rippon was thrust into the national spotlight because of his statements about U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, but he became a fan favorite in South Korea on account of his knack for entertaining interviews.

He then lived up to expectations in his Olympic debut, producing a nearly flawless routine in the free skate of the team event. He finished third with a 172.98 score, narrowly behind Canada's Patrick Chan and Olympic Athlete from Russia's Mikhail Kolyada.

"It felt worth the 28-year wait, you know?" he said after winning team bronze, per John Paul Brammer of NBC News.