‘I competed on the Winter Olympics – now I run ‘OnlyTans’ and assist different athletes’

EXCLUSIVE Alexandra Ianculescu is back at the Winter Olympics after she left the ice in tears – and she has opened up about her life after the games

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Alexandra Ianculescu may have mixed emotions about returning to an Olympic ice rink. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, she received a late call-up – fulfilling a childhood dream of competing on sport’s biggest stage.

But the fairytale quickly unravelled. Ianculescu finished last in her event and left the rink in tears. “I got off the ice, and I started crying,” she said. “I knew that it wasn’t the best I could do.” Eight years on and time has given her perspective.

Now she is back at the Games – not as a competitor chasing fractions of a second, but as a commentator, microphone in hand and a very different mindset.

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“I haven’t felt nerves yet – not to sound cocky – I think I’m just excited to come full circle,” she joked. “When I competed, I was so focused on performing that I didn’t really take it in or enjoy it.

“Now I feel like I can pause, soak it all up, say hi to other athletes and not be so locked in on competing!”

Commentating, however, is just one strand of a remarkably busy life. The former speed skater runs her own clothing company, manages her ‘OnlyTans’ page, a cheeky play on the name of the famous site, and is targeting a return to the Olympics – this time on the velodrome as a cyclist.

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“It’s easy when you love what you’re doing,” Ianculescu said when asked how she finds the time. Earlier that morning, she had already helped two athletes with clothing orders during a training session.

“I do that where I live – and I live where the athletes train…It’s easy to incorporate because it’s all within a small bubble.”

“As for ‘OnlyTans’, it’s super easy. I’ll log on, reply to people, maybe snap a few photos after a shower – like, ‘Hey, check out my new lingerie set’.

“It’s fun. The moment any of it feels like something I have to do, that’s when it’s game over. But right now, it’s all great energy!”

Ianculescu added it’s all spontaneous, and snaps are often taken when she steps out of the shower: “I believe in fresh content. If I don’t post for a day, it’s because I haven’t found something I want to share.”

However, it can be time consuming and the Canadian joked that she might have a coffee and edit photo’s for “an hour or two before training.”

Ianculescu was an early adopter of the subscription platform and admits she was learning on the fly at the beginning. Now, other athletes seek her advice.

And one of her close friends, Elise Christie, has even started to share content. “I didn’t even know she was joining. I saw her at a broadcasting meet-up in England and we talked about it there.

“I know Elise well. It’s cool to see her doing well on it. I was working three jobs to pay for school and the Olympics. Seeing athletes like Alysha Newman and Elise using it to fund their careers is amazing!”

For Ianculescu, the bigger picture is about financial independence in elite sport: “I actually broke my tailbone this summer, so I had to take time off and basically relearn how to walk properly,” Ianculescu continued, her ambitions, though, remain unchanged.

“The goals remain the same, though. I’m just so grateful to it because it allows me to make my own schedule.

“It feels like a hobby alongside serious training.

“Instead of working a job where I’d be exhausted and still have to train twice a day, I can relax and give everything to sport – while still making money to fund it.

“I’m not at the point where the government pays for anything, so it’s been life-changing!”

Those tears eight years ago seem like a lifetime ago, and Ianculescu has been determined to savour every moment at her second act on the Olympic ice.