In Pics: Athletes push themselves in Olympics pursuits

They come for glory. Sometimes, they get agony instead.

For athletes in the key moments of their Olympic quest, it’s more than most can muster to withhold a reaction when they find out whether all their work has paid off.

Victory, of course, feels good as gold. Easy to see that on the shouting face of Finnish cross-country skier Iivo Niskanen, winner in the men’s 15 kilometer. Or speedskater Hwang Dae-heon of South Korea, looking skyward after crossing first in the men’s 1500 meters.

Defeat is every bit the opposite, and Japan’s Nana Takagi knows both well. The defending Olympic champion crashed twice at the speedskating rink, including at the final in team pursuit — on the last corner, a gold medal in sight. Takagi was reduced to tears by her untimely mistake, collapsing into the arms of one of her teammates, younger sister Miho Takagi.