4. Alina Zagitova becomes second youngest ladies Gold medalist
Evgenia Medvedeva threw down the gauntlet with a haunting, flawless program in the free skate. When Alina Zagitova glided across the ice in her red ballerina tutu for her Don Quixote final program, she knew she had to face the challenge, and promptly did so. She slightly fumbled on one combination jump, but made up for it later in the program, firing off triples in the second half—when most skaters get tired, and achieving bonus points as a result—with gumption and artistic virtuosity.
It was a spectacular performance, but like so much between her Russian rival Medvedeva, it was equal in quality. But it came down to Zagitova’s spectacular short program, which had earned just a point over her rival’s, that gave her the gold, becoming just the second 15-year-old in Olympic history to win the ladies gold medal, with Tara Lipinski still the youngest.
Silver medalist Medvedeva and gold medalist Zagitova proved that Russia has the top two best ladies figure skaters in the world and no one even comes close to these two. Their joint coach must be incredibly proud.
Zagitova’s gold medal for Russia was one of only two gold medals won by the nation, since the anti-doping ban was instated in the PyeongChang games.