Mikaela Shiffrin Wins World Cup Super-G: 'I Did Not Expect to Win Today'
Dec 8, 2018
ST MORITZ, SWITZERLAND - DECEMBER 8: Mikaela Shiffrin of USA takes 1st place, Lara Gut of Switzerland takes 2nd place, Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein takes 3rd place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Super G on December 8, 2018 in St Moritz Switzerland. (Photo by Francis Bompard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
American Alpine skiing sensation Mikaela Shiffrin defied her own expectations Saturday in winning a World Cup super-G event in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Graham Dunbar of the Associated Press provided comments from Shiffrin, who has now won back-to-back super-G titles after her triumph Sunday in Lake Louise, Canada.
"I did not expect to win today," she said. "Something is working right now, and I'm enjoying it. Coming into this race I thought, 'Yeah, now I have no excuses.'"
The 23-year-old Colorado native is wrapping up a terrific 2018 that was highlighted by a gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Shiffrin will skip the next World Cup event in Italy and will return to action in slalom and giant slalom races in France starting Dec. 21, per Dunbar.
"Pick and choose which races seem to be appropriate," she said.
While she's trying to pace herself with the World Championships coming in February and the final World Cup races slated for March, her schedule figures to become hectic in the months ahead since she ranks inside the top five in all five Alpine disciplines.
Furthermore, Shiffrin is setting herself up to contend for gold in every event when the 2022 Winter Games take place in Beijing in just over three years.
Lindsey Vonn to Retire from Competition at the End of 2018-19 Season
Oct 12, 2018
United States' Lindsey Vonn answers questions after receiving a letter of appreciation for her grandfather's service during the Korean War in Jeongseon, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn has announced she will retire at the end of the 2018-19 season, regardless of whether she breaks the all-time record for most World Cup wins.
As reported by The Independent the 33-year-old has taken 82 World Cup victories during her long career, leaving her just four behind Ingemar Stenmark.
She's already the women's record holder and told reporters that is enough to be proud of:
"This is going to be my last season. Definitely retiring after this year.
"If I could break the record that would be amazing, if I can't it has been a great ride, and I am still the most successful female and I still think that's something to be really proud of.
"So we'll just see what happens this year."
She also alluded to her plans post-skiing career on social media:
Per The Independent, Vonn previously said she would not retire until she broke the all-time record of 86 World Cup wins.
Vonn took five total wins in the 2017-18 campaign, with four coming in the downhill and one in the Super-G. The downhill has always been her top event, resulting in eight world titles between 2008 and 2016. She also won an Olympic gold medal in the event in 2010.
Injuries have slowed her down in recent years, causing her to miss the 2014 Olympics and setting her back in her preparations for the 2018 Games. She managed to win bronze in the downhill but finished well behind Italy's Sofia Goggia, who has become one of the new dominant forces in women's downhill racing.
The bronze made her the oldest woman to medal in an Olympic alpine skiing event. Vonn won three Olympic medals in total, with another bronze coming in the Super-G in 2010.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018: Day 5 Exhibition Gala
Mar 25, 2018
Shoma Uno from Japan performs a routine during an Exhibition Gala at The World Figure Skating Championships 2018 in Milan on March 25, 2018.
/ AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
The 2018 ISU Figure Skating Championships concluded in some style on Sunday with the exhibition gala in Milan.
The gala saw the newly crowned world champions feature in a fitting end to what has been a dramatic competition with plenty of surprises.
Absolute Skating showed the programme for Sunday's final event:
The first half featured pairs silver medallists Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov as well as Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue who took silver in the ice dance. ISU Figure Skating showed the American duo stepping out on to the ice:
Olympic champion Alina Zagitova also performed after a disappointing showing at the tournament, as she could only finish fifth in the ladies event after falling in the free skate.
The second half saw plenty of enthralling performance with Canada's Keegan Messing thrilling the crowd with a backflip, per ISU Figure Skating:
🙃 It’s a back flip kinda Sunday courtesy of @KeeganMOnline 🇨🇦
Pairs bronze medallists Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres also produced a fun routine as they performed to Michael Jackson songs "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Black or White."
Italy's Carolina Kostner, who narrowly missed a medal in the ladies event as she finished fourth, followed with a beautiful display that deservedly drew huge applause from the home crowd.
Carolina Kostner from Italy performs on March 23, 2018 during the Ladies-Free Skate program at the Milano World Figure Skating Championship 2018. / AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
The world champions then saw out the event with men's winner Nathan Chen dressed simply in white shirt and black trousers skating to "No Good" by Kaelo. It was a fun and dynamic performance, and he departs a world champion after a disappointing 2018 Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, ice dance winners Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron produced yet another flawless display to Beyonce's "Pray You Catch Me."
Ladies champion Kaetlyn Osmond and pairs gold medallists Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot then brought the curtain down on what has been another intriguing World Championships.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018: Day 4 Results
Mar 24, 2018
(L-R) Silver medallist Japan's Shoma Uno, gold medallist US Nathan Chen and bronze medallist Russia's Mikhail Kolyada pose on the podium of the Men-Free Skate program at the Milan World Figure Skating Championship 2018 on March 24, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
America's Nathan Chen claimed gold in the men's event at the ISU World Figure Skating Championship 2018 in Milan, Italy on Saturday.
Olympic silver medallist Shoma Uno took silver while Russia's Mikhail Kolyada finished in the bronze medal position. ISU Figure Skating showed the final results:
🔢 @nathanwchen pulverises his competition capitalizing on a mistake filled Men's Final group. 🥇
Also topping the podium were France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who won the ice dance event ahead of America's Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue and Canada's Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje.
Saturday Recap
Chen was the favourite to be crowned world champion going into the tournament, and he cemented that position with a strong showing in the short programme on Thursday.
The teenager looked in the mood to make amends for his disappointment at the 2018 Winter Olympics and set a personal best of 219.46 as he swept to victory, per sports journalist Beverley Smith:
In the face of all craziness, Chen has just broken his own PB with 219.46. And he wins with 321.40, 13.94 pts better than his best. I bow to his magnificence. Seems to me he went for six quads again. #Milano2018
The final group of skaters saw many error-strewn performances allowing Uno to sneak onto the podium after finishing fifth in the short programme. America's Vincent Zhou was one skater who suffered a couple of falls as he finished down in 13th.
Kolyada also fell but did enough to claim a medal as he slipped from second after the short programme to third and a bronze medal.
Over in the ice dance, Olympic silver medallists Papadakis and Cizeron went one better as they took gold and were crowned world champions. It's their third world title, and they also set a new record score, per ISU Figure Skating:
👊💥 Smashing records!!! @GabriellaPks@GuillaumeCIZ 🇫🇷 set a new record score in the Free Dance 123.47 and in the Overall 207.20.
Smith explained just how good a performance they put in:
I think you could have heard a pin drop during Papadakis and Cizeron's free skate. Standing ovation. Beautiful. I just quite writing during it. #Milano2018
Hubbell and Donohue followed up a strong performance in the short programme with an equally impressive display in the free skate to take silver. Weaver and Poje put in a personal best to claim bronze, per Skate Canada:
Personal best for Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje in the free dance, they score 114.04! #Milano2018#WorldFigure
— Skate Canada / Patinage Canada (@SkateCanada) March 24, 2018
The results from all Saturday's events are available from the competition's officialwebsite.
Nathan Chen Wins Free Skate Gold at World Figure Skating Championships 2018
Mar 24, 2018
US's Nathan Chen performs during the Men's figure skating short program at the Milano World League Figure Skating Championship 2018 in Milan on March 22, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
Nathan Chen won the gold medal in the men's free skate event at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships in Milan on Saturday.
Chen finished ahead of Shoma Uno and Mikhail Kolyada after a disastrous run of programs from many of the other big-name skaters who made up the final group to take the ice. Many fell early and often, including Chen's U.S. team-mate Vincent Zhou.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed 18-year-old Chen's scores, with his free skate mark just four points short of a new world record:
Chen took to the ice last and produced a clean program to hoover up technical points after his nearest competitors had fallen.
Earlier, Dimitri Aliev caught the eye with a quality program in the preliminary group. The 18-year-old presented well, landing the toe jumps, but he made a rare error when attempting a triple axel.
Even so, the young Russian had scored high, with the more experienced Michal Brezina impressing next. The 27-year-old Czech skater scored a career-best 165.98 to place second in the group behind Aliev.
A career-best score was also achieved by Japan's Kazuki Tomono, who put together a quite brilliant program. The 19-year-old did his combined score the power of the good, per Ice Network:
Tomono trailed by two points after Israel's Alexei Bychenko closed out the group with a demanding routine. Bychenko scored 167.29, taking his overall score to 258.28.
Arguably the highlight from the second group was the performance of Misha Ge. In perhaps his last skate, Ge was near flawless during an emotional program.
The final group began with Canada's Keegan Messing enduring a mixed program. He started poorly, having to put his hand down to support a triple Lutz, before a costly fall left him fifth overall.
Uno took to the ice next but began with a fall and another slip. The Japanese skater showed the ill effects of anankle problemsuffered during a recent practice session, making a program featuring multiple planned quads ultimately too taxing.
It had been a tough experience for Uno, but Inside Skating still applauded the effort from the 20-year-old, who won a silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea:
#ShomaUno, crashing into the arms of #MihokoHiguchi at the end of a difficult skate – and it was courageous of him to even go for it considering he said he was battling an injury. #WorldFigure
Falls also hampered Boyang Jin and Kolyada, as the group's biggest stars were struggling to perform under pressure.
Then it was Zhou's turn to hit the ice early, falling on a triple turn, before taking another tumble on the Salchow. Zhou never truly recovered from those gaffes, settling for 13th overall.
As things stood, Uno led despite his difficulties on the ice. Yet Chen soon made the lead academic as he closed out what had been an otherwise error-strewn session with some faultless skating.
Chen made easy work of the Quads to underline his class. Jackje Wong of RockerSkating.com and Ice Network detailed how well Chen performed on his jumps:
Nathan Chen USA 4Lz, 4F2T, 4F, 4T, 4T3T(footdown), 4S(step), 3A, 3F1/2Lo3S TES 127.62, PCS 91.84, FS 219.46, TOTAL 321.40 into 1st - 2nd person to break 320 after Yuzuru Hanyu (Hanyu has broken 330)https://t.co/t7bp5crxe4#WorldFigure#Milano2018
Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada celebrates after winning the women's free skating program, at the Figure Skating World Championships in Assago, near Milan, Italy, Friday, March 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond took gold in the ladies event at the 2018 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Milan on Friday after a flawless performance in the free skate.
The 22-year-old scooped top spot ahead of Japan's Wakaba Higuchi and Satoko Miyahara who took silver and bronze. Olympic champion Alina Zagitov finished out of the medals and down in seventh place.
ISU Figure Skating showed the final results:
🔢 @kaetlyn_23 🇨🇦 breaks the spell. Since 1973 Skate Canada / Patinage Canada didn't have a Ladies World Champion! Congratulations!!! 🥇
Osmond began the day in fourth after Wednesday's short programme but pulled it out of the bag with a free skate performance that netted 150.50 points, per Skate Canada:
— Skate Canada / Patinage Canada (@SkateCanada) March 23, 2018
The 22-year-old said afterwards it was one of her best skates of the year, per ISU Figure Skating:
💬 “It was hard coming back from the Olympics. I am happy being able to put out two strong programs; and one of the best Free Skatings of all year” @kaetlyn_23 🇨🇦 leads with 4 skaters to go.
Zagitova had been the big favourite going into the competition after victory at the 2018 Winter Olympics and was in contention for the gold after finishing second in the short programme.
However, the 15-year-old Russian could not find the form she showed in Pyeongchang and slipped out of the podium places with her free skate. NBC's Nick Zaccardi explained where it all went wrong:
Alina Zagitova falls 3 times in her worlds free skate. Can Carolina Kostner, up next, become the oldest women's world champion in history?
It was also a great day for Japan with both Higuchi and Miyahara on the podium as they profited from Zagitova and overnight leader Carolina Kostner being unable to maintain their form. Sports journalist Beverley Smith was impressed with Higuchi:
Wikaba Higuchi was an unstoppable force today. A 17yo with lots of upside. #Milano2018
Canada's Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje perform during the Ice Dance Short Dance program at the Milano World Figure Skating Championship 2018 in Milan on March 23, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
Kaetlyn Osmond won gold for Canada at the 2018 ISU World Figure Skating Championships on Friday, where she took the top spot on the podium in the women's free skate event.
After finishing second in Helsinki last year, Osmond upgraded to gold on Friday and won the women's free event on the back of a beautiful Black Swan routine to capture her first world championship medal.
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron set a new world record in the short programme as they look to lead France to a gold medal in Milan, Italy.
The pair's performance earned a score of 83.73, edging previous world-record holders Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue in the first half of the ice dance event.
Virtue and Moir won this medal at last year's World Figure Skating Championships, but 2015 and 2016 champions Papadakis and Cizeron have a chance to steal with the Canadian duo not present to defend their titles.
Read on for a roundup of the latest action from the World Figure Skating Championships in Milan.
The full results from Friday's entertainment are available from the competition's officialwebsite.
Recap
Osmond took silver in the women's free skate one year ago, but the work she'd undertaken to improve her performance in the time since was apparent when she cemented her spot as No. 1 on Friday.
Her marks for performance in particular far exceeded anything her opponents could muster, per the official ISU website, and Skate Canada confirmed her table-topping result in one of the last groups of the evening:
— Skate Canada / Patinage Canada (@SkateCanada) March 23, 2018
It was a long wait from there, as athletes who scored higher in the short programme got the chance to go after the 22-year-old, but none could surpass Osmond's overall winning score of 223.23 on the night.
Ice Network confirmed her as the new world champion in her field, surpassing the Japanese duo of Wakaba Higuchi and Satoko Miyahara, who rounded out the podium:
Winter Olympics star Carolina Kostner had the opportunity to steal victory at the death in front of a home Italian crowd, last to go on the billing, but she could only place fifth with a free skate score of 128.61.
A stellar 2017-18 season continued for Papadakis and Cizeron on Friday, and the pair are back within sight of regaining gold in the short dance two years after it was lost to Canadians Virtue and Moir.
The French duo powered to a new world record in Friday's short-dance performance, where Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" provided the soundtrack to their victory, via ISU Figure Skating:
Per the official ISU results website, Papadakis and Cizeron were the only skaters to score a perfect 10 in interpretation of the music. They topped their competition in every marking field, including skating skills, transitions, performance and composition.
The pair's short dance pattern was samba-rhumba-samba, and Cizeron spoke of the pair's delight after lighting up the ice in Milan on Friday, per the official ISU website:
"We had a really good feeling on the ice today, it felt really special to be back in Milan after five years when we were here for Junior Worlds, and the crowd was amazing. We really needed to be supported today when the season has been so demanding so it felt really good to have that support. We had a great time today and it feels really good to end the season on a note like this."
Their total segment score was 83.73, a little more than three whole marks above second-placed Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States and more than five points above Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada (78.31).
France are leading a European charge, but fourth-running Italy are closest to them in the short dance field as things stand after they scored 77.46 in Friday's pairs, and entertainment value was a key aspect in their display:
Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte 🇮🇹 “It was fantastic! We tried to give everything to the crowd and we had such a good connection with the audience, each other and the judges here at #Milano2018 . That’s why we are here, we want to skate for the people”#WorldFigure#FigureSkatingpic.twitter.com/krme3inBSa
The men return to the rink on Saturday as the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships begin to draw to a close with the free-skating final, which will be followed by the free dance programme in the ice dance event.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018: Day 2 Results
Mar 22, 2018
Germany's Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot perform on March 22, 2018 during the Pairs Free figure skating at the Milano World League Figure Championship 2018. / AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
Olympic champions Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot took gold in the pairs at the 2018 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Milan on Thursday after a sensational showing in the free skate.
The German duo topped the standings overnight after the short programme and put in another sublime display to confirm their status as the world's best.
Russian pair Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov took silver while France's Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres scooped the bronze medal. Here are the final standings:
In the men's event, America's Nathan Chen tops the standings after a strong performance in the short programme.
The 18-year-old achieved a score of 101.94 to finish ahead of Russia's Mikhail Kolyada with Vincent Zhou in third. ISU Figure Skating showed the top three:
🔢 The Men left it all on the ice. Here are the results.
The full results from Thursday's action are available from the competition's officialwebsite.
Thursday Recap
Savchenko and Massot were big favourites for gold and showed why with another flawless routine on Thursday. The German duo were ever more impressive than they were at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games as they smashed the world record to take the title, per NBC's Nick Zaccardi:
Shattered the longest-standing world record in figure skating, record pairs margin of victory for an Olympics or worlds. https://t.co/E1LcKsw23u
Daniella Matar at the Associated Press was thoroughly impressed with the new world champions:
Wow. Just wow. What a performance by Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot to win the figure skating world championships. Broke the free skate and the combined world records! pic.twitter.com/aqK5MlzYME
Tarasova and Morozov had to settle for second and their choice of music let them down, according to Inside Skating:
Allow us to be blunt: @TarasovaMorozov have all the talent in the world, but someone find them a music that’s worthy of that talent. Back to back with Aljona/Bruno, the difference was even more obvious: a program of Olympic caliber (music-wise) and one that just wasn’t.
French duo James and Cipres took the final podium place and secured their first World Championship medal.
In the men's event, Chen looks determined to bounce back from his disappointment at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games with victory in Italy. The teenager missed out on an individual medal at the Winter Olympics after falling in the short programme but looked confident on Thursday.
It was a good day for the American team as Zhou placed third with a new personal best score. Sports journalist Beverley Smith showed how impressive his performance was:
Well, that was spine-tingling. Vincent Zhou landing 4Lutz-3toe and 4flip and a nice 3Ax, too. Youth! #Milano2018
Elsewhere there was disappointment for Shoma Uno who came into the tournament fresh from claiming silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Japanese skater had to settle for fifth and revealed afterwards he is struggling with injury, per ISU Figure Skating:
Canada's Keegan Messing also put in a strong showing to finish in sixth with a personal best of 93.00. This is the 26-year-old's first appearance at the World Championship and his performance has left him in contention for a medal.
The men return on Saturday for the free skate and the full schedule is available here.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018: Day 1 Result
Mar 21, 2018
Italy's Carolina Kostner performs during women's short program at the Figure Skating World Championships in Assago, near Milan, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Carolina Kostner leads the way in the ladies event at theISU World Figure Skating Championships in Milan after Wednesday's short programme.
The 31-year-old finished with a score of 80.27 to top the standings ahead of Olympic gold medallist Alina Zagitova and Japan's Satoko Mihyahara. Here's a look at the top three scores:
The full results from Wednesday's short programmes are available from the competition's official website.
Wednesday Recap
Zagitova went into the tournament as the heavy favourite after claiming glory at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea ahead of Evgenia Medvedeva who is missing the tournament due to injury.
However, the 15-year-old had to settle for second place after a flawless routine from Kostner. ISU Figure Skating showed exactly how she did it:
📹 This is how Carolina Kostner took 1st place after the Short Program this afternoon in ISU World Figure Skating Championships Milano 2018
❓ What do you love the most about Ms. Kostner's skating?
Zagitova said after her skate that she had been nervous and made mistakes, according to figure skating analyst Jackje Wong:
Zagitova: Today I felt tight, I think it was nerves but I don't know why. I was happy I was able to skate a good performance, though there were a few mistakes #WorldFigure#Milano2018
Also in contention are Canadian pair Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman who finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Osmond managed a score of 72.73 and was pleased with her performance, per ISU Figure Skating:
Bradie Tennell was the top scoring American athlete as she finished in seventh place on 68.76 while Mirai Nagasu lies ninth after scoring 65.21.
In the pairs event, Savchenko and Massot continued the form they showed at the 2018 Winter Olympics with another brilliant performance. Sports journalist Beverley Smith highlighted just how good their display was:
That score of Savchenko and Massot is the fourth highest SP pair score ever. The top three all from Volosozhar and Trankov. WR is 84.17. #Milano2018.
The German pair look in good shape to add a world title to their Olympic success, and they will return on Thursday for the free skate.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018: Dates, TV and Live-Stream Schedule
Mar 20, 2018
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 17: Nathan Chen of USA during the Figure Skating Men Free Program on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 17, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
The 2018 ISU World Figure Skating Championships start on Wednesday, with a host of top names going for glory in Milan, Italy.
U.S. champion Nathan Chen will be hoping to impress after a disappointing showing at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and he is a strong medal contender along with Japan's Olympic silver medallist Shoma Uno.
Alina Zagitova is the clear favourite in the women's competition, having taken gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and with silver medallist Yevgenia Medvedeva missing due to a foot injury.
Here is the full schedule, per the competition's official website.
Wednesday, March 21
Ladies Short Programme
Opening Ceremony
Paris Short Programme
Thursday, March 22
Men Short Programme
Pairs Free Skate
Friday, March 23
Ice Dance - Short Dance
Ladies Free Skate
Saturday, March 24
Men Free Skate
Ice Dance - Free Dance
Sunday, March 25
Exhibition Gala
The event will be televised on NBC and NBCSN. A live stream is available through NBCSports.com/live. The full schedule is available here.
Preview
Milan will host five days of enthralling action as some of the best figure skaters in the world compete for medals in Italy.
The men's event will be missing two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, as he has an ankle problem, per the Associated Press (h/t Washington Post). However, there is a strong American field, with Chen, Vincent Zhou and Max Aaron all competing.
Chen has a point to prove after returning from the 2018 Winter Olympics with just a bronze medal in the team event. He suffered disaster in the short programmes but redeemed himself with a superb free skate where he became the first person to land six quads in Olympic history, as shown by ESPN:
Nathan Chen just became the first person to land SIX (you read that right) quads in one program at the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/aAZC84iHAi
He faces tough competition from both Uno and China's Jin Boyang, who finished fourth in Pyeongchang. Zhou will also be out to make an impact, and he also made history at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The 17-year-old became the first athlete to land a quadruple lutz, which left him thrilled, per ABC News:
Vincent Zhou didn't medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, but he still made history by being the first to land a quadruple lutz. "It's just pure elation — the fact that I just validated every minute of the past 17 years of my life." https://t.co/T30mrk3HQvpic.twitter.com/6MCeopJ3uL
There are also plenty of star names in the women's competition where 15-year-old Zagitova will be the main draw. However, she will not be able to renew her rivalry with Medvedeva, as she is out with a foot injury, according to the Russian Figure Skating Federation (h/t Nick Zaccardi at NBC Sports).
Bradie Tennell and Mirai Nagasu will carry American hopes both of whom won bronze medals in South Korea in the team event. Nagasu also wrote her name into the history books at the 2018 Winter Olympics, per the U.S. Olympic Team:
The pairs event will feature Olympic champions Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot from Germany while French duo Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron are set to compete in the ice dance. American hopes will be high in the ice dance, too, with Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue and Madison Chock and Evan Bates in the hunt for medals.
