Olympic figure skating results 2018: Alina Zagitova bests Evgenia Medvedeva in classic, beautiful showdown

The battle at the top between two Russians lived up to the hype on Friday at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva both delivering breathtaking free skates at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

It was the 15-year-old Zagitova who held on to her narrow lead after the short program on Wednesday to capture the gold over the 18-year-old Medvedeva, her training partner. The win for Zagitova was the first gold medal at these Games for any of the Olympic Athletes from Russia.

Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada stood in third place after the short program, and with her strong free skate of 152.15 she won the overall bronze, finishing behind the two Russians.

Alina Zagitova skated fourth in the final group of skaters and laid down the gauntlet with a technically powerful free skate filled with jumps, highlighted by a triple-triple combination in the second half of her skate. She scored a 156.65 and leads with just two skaters remaining, one of them her friend and rival Medvedeva.

“She does not want to wait her turn. Maybe her time is now,” Tara Lipinski said of the 15-year-old Zagitova on NBC. And Lipinski knows something about winning a gold medal at age 15.

The final skater was the 18-year-old Medvedeva, who skated to Anna Karenina in her free skate on Friday. She matched the 156.65-point free skate of Zagitova, who narrowly led after the short program.

“I don’t know if we just watched gold,” said Terry Gannon of Medvedeva on NBC. “But I know we just watched greatness.”

The final six skaters all have a chance at a medal. Satoko Miyahara of Japan got the last group started with a strong skate to Madame Butterfly, and raised both arms in the air with a wide smile at the end of her run. Miyahara’s 146.44 is the best free skate score of the night, with five skaters still left to go.

Carolina Kostner, the 2014 bronze medalist now in her fourth Winter Olympics, skated second and scored 139.29 in the free skate, putting her in second place for now but with four skaters left a long shot at a medal.

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan had a strong run of her own but a missed jump late in her program made it impossible to pass her country mate Miyahara.

Choi Da-bin of South Korea gave the home fans a thrill with a technically impressive skate nearly full of green lights on NBC. Her personal-best 131.49 free skate vaulted her into the lead, however temporary with seven skaters still remaining.

“She fought tooth and nail for everything in that skate, and it was beautiful,” said Johnny Weir on the broadcast.

The second half of the free skate started off with a strong performance from Maria Sotskova, one of three Russians in the final 12. Sotskova scored a 134.24 in her free skate, giving us an idea of the increased technical skill yet to come in tonight’s proceedings.

Karen Chen, the 18-year-old from California, made several technical mistakes in her free skate, the first United States skater to take the ice. Chen scored a 119.75 in the free skate.

“She really is the best of the U.S. ladies in skating skill,” Tara Lipinski said of Chen on NBC. “If her jumps were under control, she’d be a contender.”

Fellow American Bradie Tennell, who had an uncharacteristic fall in her short program on Wednesday night, slipped up once as she skated to Cinderella while scoring a 128.34. Through three of four groups Tennell is in fourth place and the 20-year-old will finish with the best score among the three American skaters.

Gabrielle Daleman won bronze at the 2017 World Championships and was part of Canada’s gold medal in the team event, and was thought to be a medal contender in Pyeongchang. But after several falls in her free skate those thoughts went up in smoke, “heartbreaking” as Lipinski put it.

American Mirai Nagasu, who landed a triple axel in the team event, aborted her attempt at the triple axel in her free skate on Friday among other technical snafus. Her score suffered as a result, and she stands in fourth place but with six skaters still left to go.

Twelve skaters into the free skate we are halfway done. For now Elizabet Turnsynbaeva leads with an overall score of 177.10, but the top 12 still have yet to take the ice.

Even though her figure skating brother could barely watch from the stands, fighting nerves, Loena Hendrickx of Belgium turned in a strong run, the second skater of the night.

South Korean skater Ha-nul Kim, just 15, wowed the crowd with a beautiful skate to take the lead just four skaters into the program, and had the best free skate score of the first two groups at 121.38. “I’m getting teary-eyed,” Tara Lipinski said of Ha-nul’s skate on the NBC telecast. “This is why I love the Olympics.”

Perhaps the highlight of this first group was the mid-skate costume change by French skater Mae Berenice Maite:

Medvedeva turned heads with a short-program record score of 81.61 on Wednesday night, only to see Zagitova one up her with a score of 82.92 just minutes later. As a warmup on Friday and possible harbinger for the awesomeness to come, Zagitova pulled off five triple jumps in a row during practice.

While the Russians — sorry, the Olympic Athletes from Russia — are the clear favorites, there are several others to watch in the free skate. Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada put up an impressive 78.87 in the short program and stands in third place heading into Friday night.

Carolina Kostner of Italy won the bronze in 2014 at Sochi, and starts tonight in sixth place, behind a pair of Japanese skaters — Satoko Miyahara and Kaori Sakamoto.

Three American skaters are bunched together at ninth through 11th heading into Friday. Mirai Nigasu couldn’t land her historic Triple Axel on Wednesday but leads the U.S. pack in ninth, followed by Karen Chen and Bradie Tennell.

Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are broadcasting Friday night’s medal event for NBC.