Evgenia Medvedeva set a new world record in the short program of women’s speed skating on Wednesday. But it still wasn’t enough to take the top spot, as her teammate Alina Zagitova topped her just minutes later to set another record and take the lead into the free skate portion of the competition.
The two Russian skaters, who are competing under the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) designation, were able to provide the duel that so many figure skating fans were hoping for. The result sets up a battle between the two friends and rivals heading into the free skate, while barring disaster, everyone else will be fighting for bronze medals.
New World Record Set Twice in Minutes
The first signs that something special was in the air came when Medvedeva put together a powerful routine that scored 81.61 points, a new record. Incredibly, she still thought she could have done better.
“I’m satisfied with my performance today,” Medvedeva told ESPN. “It was not my best, but it was OK.”
If she wasn’t being modest, then Medvedeva may only have felt that way because she knew what her teammate was capable of. Three skaters later, Zagitova came out and skated a more difficult program without any notable errors. That was enough for her to set yet another world record, scoring 82.92 points.
“I was very happy when I saw the score, but I did not expect it,” Zagitova told Time after her skate. “Now my name will be connected to that record.”
The fact that Zagitova and Medvedeva are battling for gold is no surprise, as many observers felt the event was really only a two woman race. Heading into the short program, Medvedeva was considered the slight favorite at Bovada, where she was given odds of -135 to win gold, compared with +150 for Zagitova.
Osmond in Bronze Medal Position
If there was to be a rival from outside of Russia, Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond (+900) was expected to be the most likely challenger. Osmond lived up to that billing, as she put together a brilliant performance to score 78.87, a season high for the Canadian. That puts the 2017 world silver medalist in third place heading into the free skate.
“I left nothing out on the table and I’m really glad I could do that,” Osmond told ESPN.
Other favorites weren’t so lucky. While Maria Sotskova (+1200) wasn’t as highly regarded as her OAR teammates, she was seen as a likely bronze medal candidate. But Sotskova finished in 12th place with a score of 63.86, making it unlikely that she can claw her way back into medal contention.
Japan’s duo of Satoko Miyahara (+1600) and Kaori Sakamoto are still alive, finishing in fourth and fifth positions respectively, while Italian veteran Carolina Kostner (+1600) sits in sixth.
Meanwhile, it was a struggle for the American skaters, all of whom were considered relative longshots to reach the podium. Mirai Nagasu, Bradie Tennell, and Karen Chen each had at least one major mistake during their routines, and finished right next to each other in the standings, taking the ninth through 11th places.