Women's Figure Skating 2018: Predictions, Live Stream for Free Skate Final

The gold medal in the 2018 Olympic women's figure skating program will be awarded Thursday night, as the competition comes to a conclusion in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Russian athletes Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva enter the free skate as the gold-medal favorites, as they both broke the previous world record with their scores in the short program Tuesday night—Medvedeva broke it first before Zagitova topped her score shortly after.

While the Russians experienced plenty of success, the three Americans landed in ninth, 10th and 11th overall following falls by Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen.

Thursday appears to be set for the coronation of one of the two young Russian stars, but there's an outside chance Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond could pull off one of the most surprising results of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Date: Thursday, February 22 (Event takes place Friday, February 23 in Pyeongchang)

Time: 8 p.m. ET 

TV: NBC and NBCSN

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com

Russians Set for Showdown in Free Skate

Although most outside observers pit the 19-year-old Medvedeva and the 15-year-old Zagitova against each other because of their fierce competition at the top of the sport, the two get along well.

Both Russian skaters noted after the short program that they are wishing nothing but the best for the other in the free skate, per Ice Network's Jackie Wong:

Medvedeva delivered a statement with her short program that garnered a world-record score of 81.81, but her mark didn't last long at the top of the standings as Zagitova produced an 82.92.

Zagitova earned the slight edge over her teammate thanks to a backlogged program, with jumps that count more toward her score because of their location in the routine.

While Medvedeva is the established gold-medal favorite as the two-time world champion, Zagitova didn't see herself in the Olympics as close to a year ago, per Nick Zaccardi of NBCOlympics.com.

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

"Actually, I didn't even think I will be at the Olympics at all," Zagitova said. "If somebody had told me that two or three or even one year ago, I would have been very surprised."

Speaking of surprises, the only skater who appears to have a chance of upsetting the Russians is Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond.

The 22-year-old, who won a gold in the team event, delivered a flawless performance in the short program, but she was left three and four points back of Medvedeva and Zagitova, respectively.

Osmond said she feels more comfortable in Pyeongchang compared to her first Olympic experience at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, per Benjamin Blum of CBC Sports.

"I barely remember my last Olympic experience it was such a whirlwind," Osmond said. "Here, I feel so much more mature, so much more in control and to be able to put a program like that is always much better than it was four years ago."

Is It Possible for an American to Medal?

No one expected Tennell, Nagasu and Chen to experience falls during the short program, but that's the reality the United States is dealing with halfway through the women's competition.

Nagasu is in the best position to medal, if you can call it that, in ninth, while Chen is 10th and Tennell sits in 11th.

Nagasu had the boldest performance of the trio Tuesday, as she tried to land her second triple axel of the Olympics, but she came up short.

Despite taking herself out of medal contention for the time being, Nagasu was proud of how she laid out her routine, per Nick McCarvel of NBC Olympics:

If she displays the same fearlessness in the free skate and executes, Nagasu could move near the medal places.

But just like Nathan Chen in the men's free skate, Nagasu doesn't have the advantage of skating before any of her medal rivals.

The best-case scenario for the United States is for Nagasu to deliver a standout performance while Tennell and Chen skate error-free routines and move up a few places.

If a surge up the leaderboard doesn't occur, the Americans will go home with a bronze from the team event and ice dance in figure skating.

Prediction

Despite a charge from Osmond, the women's competition will come down to the two Russians.

Medvedeva receives a slight edge due to her wealth of championship experience from the last two World Championships.

Gold: Medvedeva (Olympic Athletes from Russia)

Silver: Zagitova (Olympic Athletes from Russia)

Bronze: Kaetlyn Osmond (Canada)

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Olympic.org.