Yuna Kim of South Korea leads the figure-skating competition. Associated Press
Sochi, Russia
The two-skater showdown never materialized, but the variety show at the Iceberg Skating Palace more than made up for it.
Heading into the women's figure-skating competition here, Yuna Kim of South Korea and Mao Asada of Japan were top contenders with a score to settle: In 2010, Kim took gold and Asada won silver even though Asada was the one who peeled off three triple axels in Vancouver.
Kim stands in first place after skating what looked like an effortless program of pure elegance on Wednesday night. But Asada, who has been struggling with her triple axel, failed to land the difficult jump. By hitting the ice, her program lost point value, and she stands in 16th out of 30 skaters.
That wasn't the only plot twist. The 15-year-old Russian favorite Julia Lipnitskaya unraveled on the ice, opening the door for her teammate, the largely unheralded Adelina Sotnikova. With a bold program set to a "Carmen" suite, Sotnikova brought a clean triple-triple combination and an electricity that was rare at this competition. Sotnikova now stands in second, with Lipnitskaya fifth.
Italy's Carolina Kostner skated an expressive program, also packed with triples, to "Ave Maria." That put her in third.
South Korea's Yuna Kim performs in the Women's Figure Skating Short Program at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the Sochi Winter Olympics on February 19, 2014
If American skaters stay on point—and get lucky with mistakes by the leaders—they could get to a podium. Gracie Gold is in fourth place, followed by Ashley Wagner in sixth and Polina Edmunds in seventh.
Gold may be harder to come by. If the previous figure skating competitions of these Games are any indication, Kim has a good shot at holding on. In the men's, pairs, ice dancing and team events, the athletes leading after the short program went on to win the gold after the free skate.
There have been, however, radical shifts in the standings after gold. Most dramatically, men's figure skater Denis Ten shot from ninth after the short program to third after the free skate to take the bronze home for Kazakhstan.
Kim could also yet let this lead slip. At 74.92 points, she is only a hair ahead of Sotnikova with and Kostner. The free-skate competition begins at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday (NBC Sports Network).
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