Boutiette Was Happy, but Remained Focused

KC Boutiette of Tacoma, Wash., who finished fifth in the men’s 1,500 Thursday, is the boyfriend of Jennifer Rodriguez of Miami, who finished a surprising fourth Wednesday in the women’s 3,000. The thing is, Boutiette wasn’t there to watch his beloved in her moment of glory. In some relationships, that could cause a strain.

But Boutiette said Thursday that all was cool.

“She did good and was happy,” he said. There wasn’t a lot of celebrating. It was a pretty normal night for her.

“It was nice to watch that [on TV], but I couldn’t think about it too much because I’ve got to think about what I’m doing. I had a shot at a medal.

“Jen did great and my hat goes off to her. For someone to come out here, in her first race in the Olympics, and skate so well, it’s unbelievable.”

Spoken like a diplomat.