Sochi Olympics, ladies figure skating short program results: Yuna Kim in first, Gracie Gold 4th; Lipnitskaya falls

BY JOSH SANCHEZ - FEB 19TH, 2014 AT 2:32 PM

The ladies figure skating competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics got underway on Wednesday with the short program.

15-year-old American Polina Edmunds was a standout throughout the early stages of the competition, as she jumped out to first-place after the first two groups. Edmunds held on to the top spot in the standings until defending Olympic champion Yuna Kim took the ice and blew away the rest of the skaters.

Edmunds stayed in second-place until Team USA teammate Gracie Gold jumped to the second spot.

As we entered the final group which was loaded with national champions and 15-year-old sensation Yulia Lipnitskaya, it was Kim, Gold and Edmunds who were in medal position.

Lipnitskaya led off the final group with another impressive performance, but it was far from the flawless execution that we had seen in the team figure skating competition as she took a little spill near the end of the routine. It was stunning to see the mistake from Lipnitskaya, but understandable considering the amount of pressure she had on her shoulders as the entire country was rooting her on.

A disappointed Lipnitskaya scored a 65.23, which was enough to leapfrog Edmunds and land in third-place.

Carolina Kostner of Italy followed Lipnitskaya, and took advantage of the opportunity to land on the medal podium and put together a great performance that landed her in second-place, just one point behind the reigning Olympic champ.

American Ashley Wagner was next up in the final group and improved on her performance from the team competition, but the performance was not what she had hoped for with a disappointing 65.21 which was lower than most anticipated. The score landed Wagner in fifth-place.

The standings held until the second Russian in the final group, 17-year-0ld Adelina Sotnikova, got the crowd back into the competition with a 74.64 that bumped her into second and kept her in the gold medal mix less than three-tenths of a point behind Kim.

Mao Asada finished off the final group with a disappointing performance that landed her in 16th place. It was a stunning development for the reigning Olympic silver medalist.

It is once again Kim’s gold medal to lose entering the free skate on Thursday, but there is no room for error with Sotnikova and Kostner close behind. Gracie Gold will have some work to do if she hopes to reach the medal podium.

With the ladies free skate taking place tomorrow and tight race for gold at the top, we are set up for an incredible finish to the competition.

Here are the final standings heading in to Thursday’s free skate:

Short Program

Free Skating

Total

Yuna Kim

74.92

Adelina Sotnikova

74.64

Carolina Kostner

74.12

Gracie Gold