A look at figure skating winners and how they earned medals


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GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — A look at the medal winners in figure skating at the Pyeongchang Olympics and how they earned them.

TEAM

Gold: Canada — The heavy gold favorite with a deep team featuring previous Olympic medalists, Canada had it clinched with one event remaining. It was the first of a games-high four medals for the Canadians.

Silver: Olympic Athletes from Russia — There was overriding consternation among the Russians when this was their only skating medal until the women's program. They were short-circuited for gold by poor performances in the men's short program and the ice dance.

Bronze: United States — When Mirai Nagasu hit the first triple axel by an American woman in an Olympics , it pretty much ensured a medal. Strong showings in the ice dance and by Adam Rippon in the men's free skate helped secure it.

PAIRS

Gold: Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, Germany — After Massot messed up in the short program, the veteran Savchenko gave him an unspoken scolding with her eyes. They then put forth one of the great free programs in pairs history, and in her fifth Olympics, Savchenko finally was atop the podium.

Silver: Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, China — Favorites heading in, they won the short program , but had two uncharacteristic bobbles in the free skate. Their throws and twists were spectacular.

Bronze: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, Canada — Inspired by the team victory, they rededicated themselves to chasing an individual medal. Despite skating their fourth high-pressure program in a week, they came through for what Duhamel called "the pinnacle."

MEN

Gold: Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan — The first man since Dick Button in 1952 to repeat as champion, Hanyu swept the short program and free skate . His combination of athleticism and artistry, spiked by the kind of perpetual motion that allows a routine to soar, were unmatched. So was the cascade of Winnie The Pooh dolls thrown on the ice when he was taking his well-earned bows.

Silver — Shoma Uno, Japan — When Hanyu missed two months of training with severe ankle problems, Uno emerged. He was considered an outsider for a medal, but his free skate as the last competitor was sublime, leading to silver.

Bronze — Javier Fernandez, Spain — The first figure skating medal for Spain went to the two-time world champion whose artistry was unequaled among the men but whose technical moves lagged a bit behind. Still, his "Don Quixote" free skate was magical.

ICE DANCE

Gold: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada — The 2010 champions and 2014 runners-up came back with one goal. They achieved it by setting world records and head to retirement with a record five Olympic medals. They also won team bronze in Sochi and team gold here.

Silver: Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, France — They won the free skate but by such a small margin that the Canadians' better short dance was the difference. Papadakis had a major costume malfunction in the short .

Bronze: Maia and Alex Shibutani, United States — While the two other highly rated U.S. duos faltered in the free dance, the siblings sizzled . It marked the fourth consecutive games at which Americans got an ice dance medal.

WOMEN

Gold: Alina Zagitova, OAR — The 15-year-old went unbeaten this season, using technically brilliant and artistically elegant performances in the short program and free skate. Her win in the short was decisive .

Silver: Evgenia Medvedeva, OAR — Undefeated for two years and twice a world champion, she lost to her training partner at Europeans. It happened again in Gangneung even though they tied in the free skate.

Bronze: Kaetlyn Osmond, Canada — Putting together what she said were two clean programs for the first time in the same event, Osmond showed why she was runner-up at the 2017 worlds. Her speed going into jumps is unparalleled.

___

More AP Olympic coverage: https://wintergames.ap.org

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