Defending Olympic champion Yuna Kim of South Korea won the silver and Italy’s Carolina Kostner finished third, taking home her country’s first figure skating medal. Americans failed to medal.
In a surprise upset, 17-year-old Adelina Sotnikova of Russia edged out 2010 Olympic champion Yuna Kim to win gold in Sochi on Thursday. Sotnikova is the first Russian woman to win a gold medal in figure skating history.
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Sotnikova's free skate routine Thursday was nearly flawless, earning her the best score of her career and bringing the Russian audience to its feet.
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She knew she nailed the difficult routine and broke down in happy tears as soon as the music finished.
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Sotnikova catapulted into first place with an overall score of 224.9 — a lead that would remain unbroken for the rest of the evening.
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