Olympic Figure Skating Schedule 2018: Tuesday USA Start Time, TV Coverage

The 2018 Winter Olympics figure skating tournament will continue on Tuesday, with the women's competition kicking off with the short programs.

NBC will cover the event, set to start at 8 p.m. ET (10 a.m. local time Wednesday morning). The second part of the women's singles competition, the free program, will take place a day later.

Here's a look at the competition and some of the top contenders heading into the short programs.

Preview

With the Russian athletes competing under a neutral flag, Evgenia Medvedeva is the clear favourite to take home the gold. For a while, it appeared the 18-year-old could be one of the most high-profile victims of the nation's ban, but Medvedeva will compete, and the rest of the field better watch out.

The teenager has broken record after record in the past two years, routinely scoring over 220 for her full program and even cracking 240 at last year's World Team Trophy. With her short program, she's cleared 80 on several occasions.

She did so in the team event, setting a new world record in the process with an 81.06. The routine was good enough to turn critics of the Olympic Athletes from Russia into admirers:

Russia had to settle for silver in the team event, but in the woman's tournament, they have two of the top skaters. Aged just 15, Alina Zagitova already blew fans away in the free program of the team event, and she holds a win over Medvedeva, beating her at the European Championships.

The potential battle between the two has fans and pundits excited, including Nick McCarvel of NBC:

Japan's Satoko Miyahara also ranks among the top contenders, even if her recent results haven't been great. She won the silver medal at the 2015 World Championships but has failed to medal since then, and she underperformed in this year's Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan.

Her showing in the team event's short program was good enough for fourth place, behind Italy's Carolina Kostner and Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond, both medal contenders. All three didn't even come close to Medvedeva, however.

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

Mirai Nagasu is probably the United States' best chance of a medal after she finished in second place in the team event's free program. Zagitova blew her score out of the water, however―if the youngster doesn't fall during her routine, it's hard to see the American overtaking her.