Alina Zagitova RUS
2018 Olympics free skate
Coming into the Olympic season, popular consensus was that Alina Zagitova had a chance to break onto the podium at the Olympics. Who would’ve thought that she would go all the way to the top of that podium come February?
It really was something of a transformation from the first competitions we saw her debut in during the fall of 2017 to the opening two competitions we saw her conquer in 2018.
It wasn’t just that she hit everything that she did at the Olympics - it was more that her entire attitude went from confident but unsure to determined and definitive. Her practices at the Olympics were light and airy, and that translated to her performances in PyeongChang.
Even being a bit off on her first lutz in this free skate didn’t faze her - she took out her first combo and tacked it on to her second lutz, saving her program and saving her gold medal chances. An absolutely fearless and magnificent skate it was.