Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva will be the woman to beat at next year’s Winter Olympics after soaring above her rivals Friday to win back-to-back titles at the world figure skating championships in Helsinki.
The 17-year-old followed her record score in the short program by setting a new mark of 154.40 in the free skate for a record overall total of 233.41, and became the first woman since Michelle Kwan in 2001 to win back-to-back world titles.
Medvedeva’s free program, lauded for its grace and technical wizardry, ended with an expression of despair as her character learned she lost a loved one, but that quickly turned to a broad grin of satisfaction with another impeccable skate.
The emotional routine is set to the music from the film, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” which depicts events surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks — including an audio snippet of President George W. Bush announcing two planes had hit the World Trade Center.
Medvedeva’s coaches told broadcasters at January’s European championships the program and its music are about “dealing with tragedy and uncertainty in today’s world.”
“My free skate was good,” said Medvedeva, unbeaten in 10 consecutive competitions. “I don’t think about records or places, just about doing my best.”
Canadian skaters left with silver and bronze as Kaetlyn Osmond took second place with 218.13 points, and Gabrielle Daleman was third with 213.52.
With Reuters and AP