The women representing Russia at the 2018 Winter Olympics showed their talent on the ice Thursday night when Alina Zagitova of Olympic Athletes of Russia led the way with a record-setting score.
There was little doubt which country would take home the gold in Olympic figure skating, the only question was which skater would it be. Entering the free skate Thursday night were two of Russia's best, Alina Zagitova and her training partner and OAR teammate Evgenia Medvedeva.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Has the apprentice become the master? <br><br>Alina Zagitova was absolutely flawless in her free skate to take the lead! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinterOlympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WinterOlympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/u8KIboJbbw">https://t.co/u8KIboJbbw</a> <a href="https://t.co/8jHKgxrQjm">pic.twitter.com/8jHKgxrQjm</a></p>— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/966896248098729984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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By the end of the free skate event, Zagitova took the gold medal with an impressive 239.7 points followed by Medvedeva for the silver and Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond for bronze. Unfortunately, the 2018 Winter Olympics marked the third Olympics in a row where U.S. figure skaters failed to reach the podium.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/JannyMedvedeva?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JannyMedvedeva</a> was stunning in the free skate, a performance that earned her silver. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinterOlympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WinterOlympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/fmMl0BMYXF">https://t.co/fmMl0BMYXF</a> <a href="https://t.co/mZFRNI25mO">pic.twitter.com/mZFRNI25mO</a></p>— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/966900709336670208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Zagitova attributes her impressive score to her strategy, saving all her high-value tricks and jumps for the second half of her routine where they earn bonus points. With the newly crowned silver medalist and fellow Russian Evgenia Medvedeva at her side, it's no wonder Zagitova took home the gold.
Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/18220-First-American-Woman-Lands-Triple-Axel-in-the-Olympics
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Source: https://www.si.com/olympics/2018/02/23/2018-winter-olympics-russians-dominate-figure-skating
Twitter: #2018Olympics #WinterOlympics #Russia #WomensFreeSkate #Zagitova
Technically RUSSIA took nothing.
Russia is BANNED from the Olympics for doping.
The Olympics allowed Russian skaters to compete as a group but not represent their country.
Yes it is splitting a G-string of a point.