Adelina Sotnikova became the first Russian figure skater to receive a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
In figure skating, Russian athletes were able to win three Olympic gold medals in Sochi. Of course, the main focus was on team competitions, in which the Russian national team was able to defend the honorary title of leader in world figure skating. A medal in pair figure skating was also expected. But the fact that Adelina Sotnikova could win the gold medal in the women's competition was not expected by many. Moreover, the competition in this type of program is very strong. Adelina Sotnikova became the first Olympic champion to win the highest dignity medal for the Russian team. Now Russian women's figure skating is on the rise. Even within the team, the girls have to compete with each other. Take at least the same Yulia Lipnitskaya, who has already become an Olympic champion (in individual competitions she was able to take only fifth place).
Unfortunately, Adelina Sotnikova could not take part in the team competition. But this turned out to be a positive moment, the athlete managed to fully concentrate on preparing for her main start. This medal was not easy to win, because after the short program, there was a minimal gap between the main contenders for the medals. The free program was able to put the skaters in their places. The program of the Russian athlete in terms of basic cost was 4 points higher than that of the current world champion Yu-Na Kim. Carolina Costner also lost out on the base cost of the elements, despite the fact that she skated her program flawlessly.
The Russian athlete was able to prove that she is the strongest in this kind of program. After Adeline's victory, the Korean national team filed a protest against the skater's results. However, the Russian woman received a higher mark for the elements of the program (the gap was just over five points). But the points scored for the components of the program were the same for both athletes. Therefore, we can say with confidence that the victory of the Russian figure skater turned out to be deserved.
