It was a result you need to see to believe.
Amid a doping controversy that has swept the 2022 Winter Olympics, 15-year-old Kamila Valieva was primed to win her second gold medal in Beijing. The ROC figure skater was permitted to compete in the women’s singles event, and she held the lead heading into Thursday’s free skate.
As the last skater to take the ice, Valieva needed a 173.80 score in the free skate to emerge as the Olympic champion. It didn’t take long for Valieva’s program to take a disastrous turn as she fell a handful of times and received a 141.93. Not only did Valieva miss out on gold, but she missed out on the podium entirely as the ROC missed out on a possible medal sweep.
NBC will re-air the women’s free skate during primetime on Thursday. Primetime coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET, and figure skating will run from approximately 8:25-8:50 p.m. and 10:00-11:20 p.m. (times are subject to change).
Along with Valieva’s shocking result, there are other notable performances from the free skate.
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Valieva’s ROC teammates, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, posted the top two scores in the free skate and finished with gold and silver, respectively. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto came away with bronze, though no medals were actually handed out following the event.
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Three Team USA skaters competed, as well. Alysa Liu placed the highest of any American, finishing seventh after scoring a 139.45 in the free skate. Mariah Bell landed in 10th overall and Karen Chen came in 16th.
