Medal Count 2018 Olympics: Predicting Thursday Night's Winners; Updated Tally

Thursday night will bring to a close the ladies figure skating in what is shaping up to be an epic battle between the Russian duo of Alina Zagitova and Yevgenia Medvedeva.

The ladies' ski cross event will also play out as Marielle Thompson of Canada will try to defend her gold medal from Sochi.

Before we dive into our nightly predictions, let's take a look at the updated medal tally heading into the night's action:

Medal Counter Entering Thursday Night

Thursday Night Schedule (Finals)

Figure Skating (7 p.m. ET)

Ladies Free Skate

Freestyle Skiing (8:15 p.m. ET)

Ladies' Ski Cross

Thursday Night Predictions

Figure Skating: Ladies Free Skate

Morry Gash/Associated Press

While the ladies short program was a disappointing night for the U.S. skaters, it's shaping up to be an exciting battle for gold with Thursday night's free skate.

It looks like a six-skater race for the podium following the short program:

1. Alina Zagitova, OAR (82.92)
2. Yevgenia Medvedeva, OAR (81.61)
3. Kaetlyn Osmond, Canada (78.87)
4. Satoko Miyahara, Japan (75.94)
5. Kaori Sakamoto, Japan (73.18)
6. Carolina Kostner, Italy (73.15)

Despite sitting in the silver-medal position entering Thursday night, Medvedeva still has to be considered the favorite for gold.

"The combination of artistry and athleticism in Evgenia Medvedeva's skating is almost unmatched in the history of the sport," wrote Chris Schleicher of Time.

Barring the unexpected, it looks like the Russian pair will be in the top two spots on the podium, leaving a compelling push for bronze.

Prediction: 1. Yevgenia Medvedeva (OAR), 2. Alina Zagitova (OAR), 3. Kaetlyn Osmond (Canada)

Freestyle Skiing: Ladies' Ski Cross

Christine Olsson/Associated Press

To say the ladies' ski cross event is wide open might be putting it lightly.

"In the unpredictable sport of ski cross, the only thing predictable is that come race day, anything can happen, and like the men’s ski cross saw, anyone can find themselves on the podium," read Stephanie De Lancey's Associated Press report (via NBC Sports).

Reigning gold-medal winner Marielle Thompson of Canada tied Sandra Naeslund of Sweden for the fastest time in training, easing some of the concerns over whether she was 100 percent after undergoing ACL and MCL surgery just four months ago.

Others to watch include 25-year-old Fanny Smith of Switzerland who is in her third Olympics, Sochi silver medalist Kelsey Serwa of Canada and Andrea Limbacher of Austria who won the test event in Pyeongchang last year.

Prediction: 1. Sandra Naeslund (Sweden), 2. Andrea Limbacher (Austria), 3. Marielle Thompson (Canada)

Schedule and stats via NBCOlympics.com.