On a day Lipnitskaia's hockey countrymen flopped out of the Games, the year-old couldn't revive Russian hearts. After winning both programs in the team event to help the hosts take the gold, Lipnitskaia fell on a triple flip and then broke down in tears.
That's all. It happens. When it happened, the crowd was stunned. And Kim had the lead -- surprisingly over the other Russian woman in the field, Adelina Sotnikova -- by only. Italy's Carolina Kostner , second at worlds last year to Kim, was third, just. Ashley Wagner of Alexandria, Va. Japan's Mao Asada had four major mistakes and plummeted to 16th. Kim's program to "Send In The Clowns" was exquisite. She even cracked a smile, perhaps for the first time since arriving in Sochi, after landing her double axel, the final jump of the routine.
Every move was timed perfectly the music in a flowing performance. When I finished, I was relaxed," Kim said. My legs were shaking.
I wasn't able to do my jumps. In my head, there were a lot of thoughts. She admitted to making a slight mistake on footwork, and the judges gave her only level 3 out of 4 on it, and on her layback spin. Again, she said, it was anxiety. Greeted by cheers of "Ro-ssi-ya" as soon as she emerged from the tunnel before warming up, Lipnitskaia had her shoulders rubbed by her coaches as she waited to take the ice.
She looked all business as she smoothly landed her practice jumps. The crowd switched to chants of "Ju-li-a" when it was her turn to perform. They breathlessly watched her perfectly land her triple lutz-triple toe loop combination. But toward the end of the 2-minute, second routine, she crashed on the triple flip that she pretty much never misses. Four skaters later, Sotnikova, 17, lifted Russian spirits with an energetic program that had her jumping up and down when she finished.
Considered a long shot for a medal, she now is in contention for gold. Her huge triple toe combination got her off to a flying start and she never let up. Her final flying camel spin, with a unique twist in it, was not completed before the crowd was up on its feet cheering wildly -- as they had done for Lipnitskaia in previous events.
Kostner's elegant performance to "Ave Maria" put her in prime position for the top spot heading into Thursday's free skate. No Italian woman has won an Olympic medal in singles.
Kim's long-time rival Mao Asada will also be a threat to her consecutive gold, if she successfully carries out her signature triple axel on ice without fail. The year-old Russian stole the show last week when her nearly flawless short program and free skate captivated audiences across the world.
She captured the hearts of her home crowd, including President Putin, who patted her on her head after her breathtaking winning skate at the team event. Yuna skated before Julia on Wednesday's short program. Yuna Kim and Julia Lipnitskaia have never competed together before.
Julia only just made it to the Olympic cut-off age 23 days, and Yuna is already competing in her second Olympics after her victory in Vancouver. It'll be interesting," the year-old said of Yuna Kim to reporters in Sochi, after her record-breaking skate. See the TV schedule and live stream info for the ladies' figure skating program on Feb.
ET on NBC replay.
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