A Winter Olympic memory that brought joy and heartbreak

Russian silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva /
She created brilliant figure skating moments.

Over two weeks and three weekends, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics filled our hearts and television screens with lots of excitement. For my wife and I, much of it took place on the Olympic figure skating ice.

Sometimes, it was colorful and loud, oftentimes it was elegant. There were plenty of thrills and excitement, just a few spills and disappointments, but enough flash and panache to make it all seem worthwhile.

Because of the 14-hour time difference between South Korea and the U.S. east coast, we tuned in to watch figure skating following our nightly dinner – and, occasionally, it kept us awake past our bedtime. Sometimes, we watched online. Because we cared, learning about the human side of many of the Olympic figure skaters competing as well as about the sport's history was a real treat.

During the final two nights of figure skating last week, after the excitement of the team, men's and ice dance competitions, we had the noblest pleasure of watching the 18-year-old Russian Evgenia Medvedeva make her Olympic individual debut in the ladies' singles event. Performing to "Nocturne" by Frederic Chopin, Medvedeva performed her short program, which included a triple flip/triple toe loop combo, triple loop and double Axel, flawlessly. Her score of 81.61 points placed her second behind her Russian teammate Alina Zagitova, who scored 82.92.

Medvedeva's skating maturity and artistic presentation were well beyond her years. From watching her skate and in listening to the comments expressed by the NBC figure skating commentators, it gave us a joy of understanding Medvedeva, both as an athlete and as an individual. Among the things we learned about her: Medvedeva likes studying foreign languages, enjoys drawing, is fond of listening to music (such as K-pop), and loves Japanese culture (such as anime). She may skate like an adult, but she's a kid at heart – and that's the beauty and joy of it all.

Two days after skating her short program, Medvedeva returned to the Olympic ice. She was the last of 24 skaters to present her long program, which decided the gold medal – and was won by Zagitova by the slimmest of margins, 239.57 to 238.26. Medvedeva, skated as Tolstoy's tragic "Anna Karenina" with music composed by Dario Marianelli. 

As she skated, we rooted for Medvedeva, a two-time world champion and consensus favorite to win the gold before she broke a bone in her right foot last fall. As The New York Times wrote, "Medvedeva was forced to confront a sobering reality on Friday at age 18: Experience and artistry and expressiveness did not prevail over mathematics."

Before her final performance, Medvedeva said, "I'm not chasing numbers, I'm chasing feelings."

There was a beautiful, athletic bounce to Medvedeva's skating, a lovely expression on her face throughout her four-minute free skate to a classic Russian story. Medvedeva was Anna Karenina – and she gave it her all. She was mentally tough and she skated brilliantly. It was a perfect, balanced and mistake-free performance – Medvedeva didn't do anything wrong – even if it didn't earn her the gold medal.

What a way to win if you're Zagitova. What a way to lose if you're Medvedeva – even if losing means winning the silver medal.

Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova.

Indeed at age 15, Zagitova became the second-youngest women's skater to win the Olympic gold medal. With shrewd design and stamina, precision jumping and a sense of "youthful certainty," Zagitova landed all 11 of her jumps in the second half of her balletic "Don Quixote" free skate long program, compared to eight for Medvedeva. As The New York Times explained: "This is known as back loading, and is meant to gobble up a 10 percent bonus awarded for each jump beyond the halfway point of a routine, as skaters' legs begin to tire." 

Skating with calm and endurance, Zagitova's strategy – which was within the rules even if it broke the spirit of them – worked to her advantage, even if it wasn't as emotional and captivating as Medvedeva's long program.

The two Russian figure skaters each scored 156.65 in the free skate and Medvedeva was ranked first ahead of Zagitova. Looking back, Medvedeva's technical elements included: a triple flip/triple toe loop combo, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, a triple loop, a double Axel/double toe loop/double toe loop combo, a triple Salchow/triple toe loop combo and a double Axel. Her interpretation of her music was superb. 

"If most skaters skate with their brains," said NBC figure skating analyst Johnny Weir, as he watched Medvedeva perform, "Evgenia skates with her entire soul throughout her performance."

At the conclusion of Medvedeva's performance, NBC figure skating commentator Terry Gannon was moved to say, "I don't know if we just watched gold, but we watched greatness."

As it happened, Zagitova's victory was the second consecutive gold medal won by Russian women. Because they operate in a centralized training facility, unlike in the U.S., the top skaters challenge each other on a daily basis in practice. Thus, Zagitova was challenged by her friend and training partner Medvedeva – and it paid off. 

Looking back, as Medvedeva received the plaudits of the appreciative crowd before skating off the ice after to await her adjudication, she shed tears of joy – maybe of relief, too. Despite facing enormous pressure, she skated marvelously – a season-best performance. In our eyes – and many others, too – Medvedeva was a winner. And, yet, she handled her defeat so graciously. 

"She created brilliant moments," said NBC figure skating analyst and 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lapinski in describing what she had just seen Medvedeva perform. "This was one of the best ever competitions."

After receiving her silver medal, Medvedeva had time to reflect. "It's life and it's a lesson," she said. "Every year, every moment, every day, every week, every month, we must become stronger. ... Today, we proved ourselves here."

Photos: Courtesy of Google Images.