The team from Russia won the first gold medal in figure skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics. For the second time after their triumph in Sochi 2014, the favorites prevailed in the team competition well ahead of the USA and Japan.
The Russian selection impressed with its balance in all four disciplines and dominated the events on all three days of the competition. There was only a moment of shock for the pair skating world champions Anastasija Mischina and Alexander Galljamov, who fell together during a spectacular lifting figure, but were still able to finish their freestyle.
The Chinese runner Zhu Yi, who was heavily criticized in the social media after her botched short program on Sunday, was again unable to withstand the immense pressure of expectations. The athlete, who was born in the USA, ended her freestyle in tears after several falls. In her performance, the 19-year-old stayed almost 20 points below her personal best.
Weakened by the failure of the German pair skating champion Nolan Seegert from Berlin, who tested positive for the corona virus upon entry, the German team missed the final of the top five teams and finished ninth and penultimate. This means that eighth place, which is important for financial support in the coming years, was missed.
Without German participation, the Olympic figure skating competitions will continue on Tuesday (02:15 OZ/09:15 CET) with the men’s short program. The four-time German champion Paul Fentz, who started in the team competition last Friday, did not qualify for the individual decision, the 29-year-old left on Monday.