Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva became the first woman in Olympic history to land a quadruple Salchow jump during her free skate on Sunday. She also landed a second quadruple toe loop and triple axel before falling on a third attempt.
The Russian Olympic Committee had clinched the gold medal in the team event before Valieva even took the ice, but her performance gave them a nine-point separation in the final results.
HISTORY MADE!
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 7, 2022
15-year-old Kamila Valiyeva is the first woman to successfully land a quad at the #WinterOlympics. pic.twitter.com/rfXzOM09lH
The 15-year-old Valieva received a 178.92 for the performance, more than 30 points higher than second-place finisher Kaori Sakamoto.
“I do feel this burden a bit, this pressure, because this is my first season among adult skaters,” Valieva said. “I believe that I’m coping with this pressure, and sometimes it even pushes me forward. It helps me.”
With Valieva’s score, the ROC finished the team event with 74 total points. The United States came in second with a final score of 65, the highest-ever point total for the U.S. in the event. The silver medal was Team USA’s best result in the team event since it debuted at the Olympics in 2014.
Valieva’s performance followed a dominant short program in which she scored 90.18 points, just outside of the world-record 90.45 points she scored at the European Championships last month.
The figure skating singles event gets underway on Tuesday, Feb. 15.
The Beijing Olympics begin Friday, with athletes set to compete in 109 medal events across seven sports and 15 disciplines. Competitors from 91 countries will fight it out for a spot on the podium, looking to make a name for themselves on the world’s biggest stage.
Before the opening ceremonies, we’re counting down the 10 athletes poised for a breakout Olympics.
1. Eileen Gu
Eileen Gu is set to make a splash at the Beijing Olympics as one of the host country’s medal favorites. The 18-year-old American-born free skier has competed for China since 2019, garnering widespread support across the country leading up to the Winter Games. Gu is expected to be a threat in halfpipe, big air and slopestyle, winning gold in the halfpipe and slopestyle events at the 2021 World Championship.
2. Alysa Liu
Alysa Liu will make her Olympic debut in Beijing at just 16 years old. The American figure skater has already amassed an impressive resume as the youngest woman to ever win a U.S. national championship at 13 years old, before defending her title a year later. Liu is also the first American woman to land a quad lutz in competition and the first woman in the world to land a quad and triple axel in the same program in competition. The record-breaking teen will now look to make a name for herself and bring home a medal for Team USA.
3. Paula Moltzan
Paula Moltzan is going for gold in her Olympic debut after a landmark 2021. The American slalom specialist clinched her first World Cup podium this season in parallel slalom and finished 11th in slalom. The 27-year-old could challenge opponents in individual events and be a critical factor in the team competition.
4. Olivia Giaccio
Olivia Giaccio hopes to make a name for herself on the world’s stage in Beijing, representing Team USA in freestyle skiing. The 21-year-old has already begun to separate herself from the competition, becoming the first woman to complete a cork 1080 during the Tremblant, Canada World Cup stop in January. Look out for the American to be a contender on the moguls in Beijing.
5. Kristen Santos
Kristen Santos is looking for redemption in Beijing after suffering an injury just before the 2018 Olympics. A competitor’s skate sliced open her left hand, leaving Santos in a cast and with little preparation time for the U.S. Trials. The 25-year-old is one of the best chances Team USA has to clinch a medal in short track speed skating, with the United States’ last medal in the discipline coming in 2010.
6. Abby Roque
Abby Roque is set to make history at the Winter Games, becoming the first Native American woman to represent the U.S. in ice hockey. The 24-year-old has had an impressive career to date, including clinching the 2018-19 NCAA national championship with the University of Wisconsin. In her Olympic debut, Roque will hope to lead the U.S hockey team to a gold in Beijing, defending the team’s 2018 title.
7. Kamila Valieva
Expect Kamila Valieva to become a household name after the Winter Olympics, with the 15-year-old the heavy favorite to take home figure skating gold in Beijing. The Russian star is incredibly consistent, never losing a senior international tournament while boasting a packed arsenal that includes a quadruple toe loop, quadruple Salchow and triple Axel. Valieva is expected to win gold in Beijing and break records while doing it.
8. Natalie Geisenberger
While Beijing is far from Natalie Geisenberger’s Olympic debut, it could be a historic Winter Games for the German luger. After capturing luge gold in Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018, another gold in Beijing would make Geisenberger the first woman to win three straight gold medals in the sport. Now a mother, giving birth to her son in May 2020, the 33-year-old has a shot at her sixth total Olympic medal in Beijing.
9. Erin Jackson
Erin Jackson made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang after only four months of experience on ice, transitioning from inline skating to speed skating just before the 2018 Games. Now, a four-year veteran of the sport, Jackson is looking to podium as one of the top athletes in the 500-meter event.
The American star nearly missed her chance to qualify for the race after slipping at the U.S. Olympic trials before teammate Brittany Bowe gave up her spot to Jackson, telling NBC, “She is ranked number one in the world and no one is more deserving than her to get an opportunity to bring Team USA home a medal.”
Jackson heads into the Winter Games with some historic momentum after becoming the first Black woman to win a World Cup event in speed skating in November.
10. Sara Takanashi
Sara Takanashi is already famous among ski jumpers as the all-time World Cup leader in the sport. Any medal or title there is to win in ski jumping, it is likely Takanashi has already won it, with the Olympic gold medal the only prize to elude the Japanese champion. Heading into Beijing, Takanashi will look to solidify herself as the best to ever compete in the discipline and assert herself on the international stage.
Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Alysa Liu are heading to Beijing, with all three athletes named to the United States’ Olympic figure skating team.
Mariah. Karen. Alysa.
— U.S. Figure Skating (@USFigureSkating) January 8, 2022
Taking center ice at #Beijing2022 pic.twitter.com/N5QgZ2nwAR
Bell and Chen earned their spots on the squad after clinching first and second place, respectively, at the national championships.
Liu, 16, did not participate in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19 and withdrawing from the competition. The American teen successfully petitioned for an Olympic roster spot after being unable to take the ice.
Boasting the highest international score this season, Liu is considered Team USA’s best shot at an individual medal.
Bell, 25, is the oldest U.S. women’s singles skater since 1928 and the oldest national champion since 1927. Her 2022 title-sealing performance was her ninth appearance at nationals.
“Age is literally a number. It means nothing,” Bell told NBC Sports. “And if you have a dream, there is no limit on the time that you have to achieve that dream.”
Chen joins Bell as a U.S. figure skating veteran. The 22-year-old will become the first American skater since Sasha Cohen in 2002 and 2006 to compete in back-to-back Olympics.
Team USA’s alternates were also announced on Saturday. Lindsay Thorngren, Amber Glenn and Gabriella Izzo will all travel to Beijing in the event any skaters are unable to compete.
Alysa Liu, the top female figure skater in the United States, tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Friday. The positive test puts the 16-year-old’s potential Olympic team inclusion in jeopardy.
Liu revealed the positive test via Instagram stories.
“I’m fully vaccinated, have been wearing a n95 mask and got 2 negative test results before leaving to Nashville,” Liu posted on Instagram. “Things happen unfortunately …
“I’m thankful to US Figure Skating for taking the extra precaution and having the necessary testing facilities to help keep everyone here as safe as possible. I’m feeling good physically and mentally and I’m wishing all the girls good luck for tonight.”
Prior to her withdrawal, Liu had finished third in the short program behind Mariah Bell and Karen Chen.
Already a two-time national champion, Liu will petition the selection committee for inclusion based on her body of recent work. The team, which will take three individual female skaters, will name the team on Sunday following the conclusion of nationals.
When looking at who will be selected for the Olympic team, the selection committee doesn’t solely look at the current championships but rather cumulative results and medal potential. Liu has long been considered to be the best hope for an American woman to stand next to the Russians on the podium in Beijing. In 2018, she became the youngest skater ever to win the U.S. championship at 13 years old. At the time, she was too young to compete at the Pyeongchang Games that same year.
In addition to being a two-time champion, Liu is also one of few American skaters who can land a clean triple axel.
However, aside from not being able to close out the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Liu would also have to clear the Chinese requirements for COVID-19. While she will likely recover from her infection prior to the Games, she will have to test negative on two PCR tests in the 96 hours before departure. PCR tests can stay positive for weeks, and sometimes months after recovery.
The Olympics are set to begin on Feb. 4 with women’s singles beginning Feb. 6.
Mariah Bell won the short program portion of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Thursday night with a score of 75.55.
MARIAH👏BELL👏DELIVERED👏@USFigureSkating | #ToyotaUSChamps22 pic.twitter.com/Oj58hLPBxO
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) January 7, 2022
Second-place finisher Karen Chen, who is the 2017 champion and a 2018 Olympian, posted a score of 74.55. Two-time national champion and 16-year-old Alysa Liu came in third with a score of 71.42 after failing to land a triple axel.
There are three spots available on Team USA for the upcoming Beijing Olympics, which begin Feb. 4.
Former two-time champion Gracie Gold posted a score of 67.61 on what she called her first clean program at nationals since 2014. The program earned a standing ovation from the crowd and has her sitting sixth in the standings.
The women’s free skate begins at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The Olympic team will then be named on Sunday upon conclusion of the championships.