Russian Women Skaters Set New World Records In Quick Succession

She said she was “electrified” by Japanese teammates Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno’s medal-winning performances in the men’s event. She’s been seen awaiting scores while holding a plush toy of Luna, Sailor Moon’s cat and companion. Mirai Nagasu fell on her triple Axel attempt but still managed to beat Tennell, and Karen Chen’s Olympics debut put her ahead of Tennell as well. She tallied 81.61 points.

The short program Wednesday reminded skating followers just how quickly fortunes can change in this sport.

Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada was third with 78.87 points.

Both Russian women are heavily favored to win medals in the Olympic competition that concludes with free skating on February 23.

Fifteen years old, Zagitova just met the age requirement for these Olympics.

Choi, who won the gold medal at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo previous year, is not overpowering, but has a steadiness that makes watching her appealing. The hype was apparently lost on the skater. “I’m sure they’re all really different but the same in many ways, and I think that’s given us character, to never give up and keep going”.

The free skate program is set for Thursday.

That’s exactly what happened Wednesday local time during the women’s figure skating short program at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The 18-year-old had a ideal season and hadn’t lost an event since 2015. Also watch out for Canada’s Vincent De Haître, who, at the World Championships, won silver. That set the stage for an Olympic showdown, and with the Russian team having no gold medal so far, the spotlight was even more glaring for them.

Which made Medvedeva’s recent streak so special.

Grigory Dukor / Reuters Gold medallist Alina Zagitova of Russian Federation (R) and silver medallist Evgenia Medvedeva of Russian Federation attend the ceremony ISU European Championships 2018 victory ceremony.

They responded with world records. The rest of the program was clean, however, and she tallied 64.01 points for 11th place. “It’s not bitter or personal, but it’s there”. “My goal is to have a clean free skate and be satisfied with myself inside”. Medvedeva’s time isn’t up yet.

The Russian athletes dominated the women’s figure skating short program. Kostner and Osmond finished 2-3 behind Medvedeva in the team event short program. That left all three out of medal contention but proud of the way they fought back.

“If I had done a double, I would have been more angry with myself for not going for it”, she said, tears welling.

“I paid attention to every little detail, moved like a samurai. You only get one shot”. Ashley Wagner, a 2014 Olympian and a USA alternate in Pyeongchang, tweeted her displeasure while watching Zagitova’s performance during the team competition. This is Zagitova’s first season competing as a senior (or elite-level) skater. “I’m not very fond of being in the first warm-up [group]”. “It’s a push forward”, she said. Being that she’s in the land of BTS, EXO, NCT 127, Monsta X and more, it’s a good thing that Zhenya is a big fan of K-Pop, according to the Washington Post. Despite her characteristic consistency, Tennell fell on her opening triple-triple combination. “Today I felt better than in the team event, but I still could have had a higher score if the (jump) combination would have been better”. The latter title, which came in January in Moscow, is of particular significance because it marked the first time Medvedeva was beaten in competition since the fall of 2015. “But it’s officially reality”.