Sochi Olympics: Figure Skating Finals

The past two weeks I've watched the Winter Olympics on Prime Time NBC every night. Although the Winter Olympics aren't near as exciting as the Summer Olympics, I still enjoy the cultural spirit of it all, and do my best to watch every event (even the ones I despise like hockey and curling). I'll eventually have a full post highlighting the past two weeks, but for now I wanted to focus on the most exciting event of them all; the women's single skate finals. (And yes I'm being serious and there is nothing gay about this haha)

In my opinion the women's figure skating is the grand event of the Winter Olympics. It is the equivalent to the 100m dash in track and field. Maybe it began with the whole Kerrigan-Harding incident of 1994 or way before that, however this event has always seemed to draw the highest attention. It's no doubt the female athlete's most glorious and inspiring sport to witness as it mixes both athleticism and artistic expression. The last two nights did not disappoint in providing some very entertaining, dramatic, and controversial stuff. Here is a recap of what happened, who won, and the controversy that has followed.

1st Place: Olympic Gold: Adelina Sotnikova

Country: Russia

Previous Achievements: 

• Silver: 2014 European Championships at Budapest, Hungary
• Silver: 2013 European Championships at Zagreb, Croatia
• Gold: 2014 Russian Championships at Sochi, Russia
• Bronze: 2013 Russian Championship at Sochi, Russia
• Gold: 2012 Russian Championships at Saransk, Russia
• Gold: 2011 Russia Championships at Saransk, Russia
• Gold: 2009 Russian Championships at Kazan, Russia

Sochi Performance: At only 17 this young Russian has captured gold for herself as well as Russia's first gold medal in ladies' figure skating since 1936.  It's my understanding that Adelina was not the Russian favorite and instead was overshadowed by the 15 year old Yulia. She went on to shock her country, when she skated two magnificent performances on Wednesday and Thursday. Both performances were flawless as she nailed every jump with perfect technicalities, graceful style, and a big smile on her face. She was the well deserved Gold medalist in my opinion.

2nd Place: Olympic Silver: Kim Yuna

Country: South Korea

Previous Achievements:

• Gold: 2010 Vancouver Olympics
• Gold: 2013 World Championships at London
• Gold 2009 World Championships at Los Angeles
• Gold: 2009 Four Continents Championships at Vancover
• Gold: 2006 Grand Prix Final at St. Petersburg
• Gold: 2007 Grand Prix Final at Turin, Italy
• Gold: 2009 Grand Prix Final at Tokyo, Japan
• Silver: 2008 Grand Prix Final at Goyang, South Korea
• Silver: 2011 World Championships at Moscow
• Silver: 2010 World Championships at Turin, Italy
• Bronze: 2008 World Championships at Gothenburg, Sweden
• Bronze: 2007 World Championships at Tokyo, Japan

Sochi Performance: After watching her first performance on Wednesday it became clear that she was the queen of the field. She won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and seemed to be in perfect form to repeat as a back-to-back gold medalist. After the first performance the 23 year older was in 1st place as she skated with such perfection and made it all look so easy and enjoyable. However on the 2nd performance, she was last to perform and perhaps the pressure got to her. She still had a phenomenal skate, however had a slight fumble or two that gave Adelina the win. However both these skaters (Adelina and Yuna) were very close in quality and no doubt a tough call for the judges. I think in the end they got it right however and Yuna was the righteous silver medalist.

3rd Place: Olympic Bronze: Carolina Kostner

Country: Italy

Previous Achievements:

• Gold: 2012 World Championships at Nice, France
• Gold: 2013 European Championships at Zagreb, Croatia
• Gold: 2012 European Championships at Sheffield, Great Britain
• Gold: 2010 European Championships at Tallinn, Estonia 
• Gold: 2008 European Championships at Zagreb, Croatia
• Gold: 2007 European Championships at Warsaw, Poland
• Gold: 2011 Grand Prix Final at Quebec
• Silver: 2013 World Championships at London, Great Britain
• Silver: 2008 World Championships at Gothenburg, Sweden
• Silver: 2011 European Championships at Bern, Switzerland
• Silver: 2009 European Championships at Helinski, Finland
• Silver: 2010 Grand Prix Final at Beijing
• Bronze: 2011 World Championships at Moscow
• Bronze: 2005 World Championships at Moscow
• Bronze: 2014 European Championships at Budapest, Hungary
• Bronze: 2006 European Championships at Lyon, France
• Bronze: 2008 Grand Prix Final at Goyang, Korea
• Bronze: 2007 Grand Prix Final at Turin, Italy

Sochi Performance: This 27 year old Italian star was very hungry for a medal after coming up short in Torino and Vancouver. On her first performance she skated to the music of Ave Maria, with heartfelt emotion and precision in her jumps. On her second day she once again had a powerful/emotional performance, this time to the great music of Maurice Ravel's Bolero. She was fun to watch thanks to her musical choices, yet I personally wasn't sold by her as some of the others. Her technicalities must of won the judges over as she finally got a medal at the Olympics.  

4th Place: Gracie Gold

Country: USA

Previous Achievements:

• Gold: 2014 US Championships in Boston, USA
• Silver: 2013 US Championships in Omaha, USA 

Sochi Performance: I was in shock the first time I discovered that USA had a new star figure skater, fittingly named, Gracie Gold. Surely it had to be have been some joke or nickname, but it turns out this is actually her real name. After seeing this new 18 year old star in many commercials as well as some interviewers, it became clear that she was a major contender. She was following in the footsteps of many American frontrunners such as Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, Sarah Hughes, Sacha Cohen to name a few. 

I had most anticipation to witness her at the main event and see if she could live up to the hype. Quite surprisingly she performed with maturity and just like her name suggests, with grace. She skated to the music of Edvard Grieg and Tchaikovsky which always doubles the intensity. She however did fall once in the first program and once in the 2nd program and seemed to be a little tight on nerves. I think a 4th place finish was about right for Gracie and something she should be very proud of. The field was very skilled this year, and she may be able to make another run at Pyeongchang 2018. 

5th Place: Yulia Lipnitskaya

Country: Russia

Previous Achievements:

• Gold: 2014 Sochi Olympics (Team Event)
• Gold: 2014 European Championships at Budapest, Hungary
• Silver: 2014 Russian Championships at Sochi, Russia
• Silver: 2013 Grand Prix Final at Fukuoka, Japan
• Silver: 2012 Russian Championships at Saransk, Russia

Sochi Performance: This 15 year old skater was one of the favorites going into the competition and in my opinion was the most exciting to watch. Unfortunately however she fell in both her programs. She was the total package as she skated to the music of Schindlers List with such intensity, speed, precision, ease, and expression. She was the superstar Russian favorite over Adelina, however she failed to deliver at the main event. However even still she finished 5th which is still impressive considering her falls. She won't be leaving Sochi empty handed as she won gold in the team event last week. She's a very powerful skater, and should no doubt be a front-runner once again at Pyeongchang 2018.   

7th Place: Ashley Wagner

Country: USA

Previous Achievements:

• Gold: 2012 Four Continents Final at Colorado Springs, USA
• Gold: 2013 US Championships at Omaha, USA
• Gold: 2012 US Championships at San Jose, USA
• Silver: 2012 Grand Prix Final at Sochi
• Bronze: 2014 Sochi Olympics (team skate)
• Bronze: 2013 Grand Prix Final at Fukuoka, Japan
• Bronze: 2010 US Championships at Spokane, USA
• Bronze: 2008 US Championships at St. Paul, USA

Sochi Performance: This was another new American figure skater I just recently learned about at these Olympics, after seeing her in several commercials. Surely there had to be some rivalry with her and Gracie yet that didn't appear to be the case. Wagner skated two solid performances, with power, precision, and great technicalities. What she lacked in grace, she made up in sexual emotional expression. There are many who may criticize her 7th place finish, as she skated with near perfect technicality, yet I think the judging was quite fair and accurate. She also won't be going home empty handed however as she won the bronze medal in team skate. 

Final Note on Figure skating: 

A few years ago I tried skating for my first time ever at my parents lake and I quickly learned how difficult and painful the sport of ice-skating is. So to watch a person glide and spin on ice with such ease is very awe-inspiring and beautiful to watch. It's a very unique one-of-a-kind sport that mixes athleticism with expression. In the four categories of ice-skating (Women's Singles, Men's Singles, Pairs, and Dancing) the best in the world have mastered the art of feminine or masculine athletic expression. There can be no doubt or hesitation in this fast paced artist sport. The judges understand and appreciate the sport better than anyone and I feel quite certain that they put the individual's performance ahead of their own national pride.