US Olympic Figure Skating 2018: Latest Results; Updated Schedule and Odds
There was disappointment for the United States in the figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics, as Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim could only finish 15th in the pairs on Thursday in South Korea.
Germany's Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot raced away to a surprise gold in the event, recording a world-record score of 159.31 points for a total of 235.90 to beat acclaimed Chinese duo Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who took the silver.
There was joy for Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, with the partnership securing the bronze medal at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Pyeongchang.
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U.S. fans will now be looking forward to the men's singles, with Nathan Chen set to appear in the short program on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET). The category begins in the early hours of the morning in the UK and Europe on Friday, with the skating set to commence at 10 a.m. local time.
Here is the updated figure skating schedule and odds from Pyeongchang 2018:
Figure Skating Schedule
Friday, Feb. 16—Men's single skating, short program (8 p.m. ET Thursday/1 a.m. GMT)
Saturday, Feb. 17—Men's single skating, free skating (8 p.m. ET Friday/1 a.m. GMT)
Monday, Feb. 19—Ice dance, short dance (8 p.m. ET Sunday/1 a.m. GMT)
Tuesday, Feb. 20—Ice dance, free dance (8 p.m. ET Monday/1 a.m. GMT)
Wednesday, Feb. 21—Women's singles, short program (8 p.m. ET Tuesday/ 1 a.m. GMT)
Friday, Feb. 23—Women's singles, free skating (8 p.m. ET Thursday/ 1 a.m. GMT)
Per Mark Gallant of Action Network, here are the odds for the men's singles competition, accurate as of Feb. 13:
Men's Singles Gold Medal Odds
Shoma Uno, Japan: Evens
Nathan Chen, United States: 7-4
Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan: 2-1
Javier Fernandez, Spain: 4-1
Latest Results
The pairs was always expected to be a tight-run affair, but the performance of Germany's gold medal duo caught many by surprise.
Wenjing and Cong were expected to power through for the gold, but Savchenko and Massot produced a world-record free skating performance to leapfrog China's best.
The Germans were initially outside of the medal places at the start of the day but rallied from fourth spot to capture the top honour.
Russian ice skaters Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov had been tipped to push for the gold, but the pair fell short as they slipped from second to fourth as the medals were decided.
Savchenko was featuring at her fifth Olympic Games and finally took home a gold as her chemistry with Massot shone through.
The female ice skater had previously won two bronze medals with former partner Robin Szolkowy but can now call herself an Olympic champion.
It was a tough day for America's Knierim partnership, with the married couple unable to push themselves into contention against a high-class field.
Per Dave Skretta of Associated Press (via the Chicago Tribune), the pair became the first Americans to land a a quad twist in Olympic Games competition, but it wasn't enough to see them leap up the standings.
Chris Knierim had expressed his delight at skating with his wife at the Games:
Attention will now move to the men's singles, with a stellar lineup ready to entertain the fans in South Korea.
American hopes are pinned on burgeoning superstar Chen, but his form has slightly dipped in his past few outings.
Uno of Japan is evens to take the gold medal after Chen slipped from the position of favourite with the bookmakers.
The 18-year-old U.S. champion from Salt Lake City will still expect to medal in the competition, but fans are expecting to see a stellar performance after a fantastic 12 months of development and competition.
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