Women's Figure Skating Olympics 2014: Biggest Surprises from the Free Skate
Entering Thursday, figure skating had already seen the ladies skate the team event and short program of the individual competition. That was a minor prelude to the free skate, which decided the medalists, made new stars and ended a couple of careers. These are the biggest surprises from the culminating medal session in figure skating.
Russia Wins...And It's Not Lipnitskaia
Adelina Sotnikova was not among the favorites for gold, but she found herself in second place after the short program. More surprisingly, she pulled off a stellar free skate and scored nearly five points higher than any of her competitors. The 17-year-old from Moscow will be a national darling, especially on the heels of the Russian hockey team losing.
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Julia Lipnitskaia led Russia to a gold medal in the team event with some marvelous skating, but she had underwhelming runs in the short program and free skate to finish with a respectable fifth.
"Queen Yuna" Dethroned Despite Sparkling Routine
South Korea's Yuna Kim set a world record with her gold-medal score at the 2010 Olympics. She led after the short program in Sochi, but according to Alissa De Carbonnel of Reuters, Kim admitted to reporters that she was not entirely on form, saying "I slightly wobbled during my steps."
Kim skated well enough to win during the free skate, but her routine fell short of the sublime show put on by Sotnikova, and the "Queen" received silver. She may have wobbled on some of her landings again, but some observers saw this as a major judging scandal.
Veteran Wins Bronze in Young Person's Sport
Italy's Carolina Kostner capped off an excellent Sochi Olympics by taking bronze on the strength of her short program on Wednesday. She also skated very well in the team event, and she put up the two highest scores as Italy placed fourth.
In a sport in which some competitors are in their early teens (like the 15-year-old Lipnitskaia), Kostner is going strong at age 27.
Zero American Medals in Men's and Ladies' Figure Skating
The last time the United States failed to medal in singles figure skating, the year was 1936. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president. Well, it happened again.
Gracie Gold skated well, but a fall during the free skate sunk her medal hopes and she finished fourth. Ashley Wagner skated well, but NBC cameras showed in slow motion that she under-rotated on certain jumps which cost her significant points and dropped her to seventh.
Mao Asada Will Retire at 23
Mao Asada won the silver medal at the 2010 Games, and she came in with a strong shot to medal again. But if you watched her short program, you would have agreed that she was ready for retirement. The two-time world champion finished 16th and effectively had no chance to make up that much ground in the free skate.
Then her routine on Thursday was stupendous. The outpouring of style, emotion and athleticism may well serve as her lasting swan song as she plans to retire at just 23 years old. Asada recorded the third-highest score in the free skate and finished in sixth place.
Then again, perhaps the lasting memory will be her disastrous short program. According to the Associated Press (via ABC): "Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who became the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee's chairman last month, said Asada has a habit of 'always falling at the most critical time' of a competition."
Mori continued, saying: "We shouldn't have taken part in the team competition. The psychological damage (Asada) incurred must have remained."
The former PM did not pull any punches whatsoever, and it's surprising to hear such a prominent figure trash a cherished athlete for a sixth-place finish. Whether or not Asada decides to retire, she seems to have the chops to continue competing based on her free skate.
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