For European figure skating champion Alina Sagitowa and Olympic athletes from Russia, the first gold medal at the Pyeongchang Games is within reach. The 15-year-old, with a fantastic short program and an unofficial world record of 82.92 points, reached the top and is unlikely to be easy to beat in Friday’s freestyle decision.
If anything, then it’s world champion and team mate Yevgeniya Medvedeva, who collected 81.61 points and is within striking distance of the Grand Prix winner. Third place goes to Kaetlyn Osmond from Canada (78.87) and the German champion Nicole Schott was satisfied with 14th place in the intermediate ranking (59.20).
Sagitowa effortlessly dabbed all her maximum difficulties on the ice. Pirouettes and step combinations also convinced the jury. The Moscow woman received her best result with a bright smile and a cheerful wave.
Already in the early morning Schott had reached the free skating final without any problems. After a successful short program, the sports soldier could not be replaced by one of the top 24 places at an early stage, but in the end she finished in 14th place in the intermediate ranking.
The tenth place in the European Championship received 59.20 points for her presentation on “Nella Fantasia”, beating her best mark of the season by 1.5 points. Visibly satisfied, the woman from Essen drove off the ice and fell into her coach Michael Huth’s arms with relief.
“At last a really successful short program, I’ve been waiting for that all season,”said the 21-year-old, who was still far below her potential at the European Championships in Moscow in January. Schott went on to say that a brief training stay in Seoul had also helped them to progress, interrupting the monotony in the Olympic village.
The runner, who mainly trains in Oberstdorf, also received praise from Udo Dönsdorf:”Nicole has called up what she can do. This is a good basis for the freestyle decision”, said the DEU sports director.