ATLANTA — Russia is determined to reach the podium in this year's Winter Olympic games when it comes to figure skating, but the U.S. has a champion in the running. Until the judges render their scores, it's still anyone's game.
The Russian Olympic Committee will be sending several titleholders to Beijing for the women's figure skating competition this year, including 2021 World Figure Skating Champion medalists Anna Shcherbakova (gold), Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (silver) and Alexandra Trusova (bronze). Russia will also be looking to fill a void in the pairs competition, as Germany's 2018 winners Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot are absent this year. Russia's Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, 2021 World Figure Skating Champions, are penned to possibly take first place instead.
The overwhelming favorite for the women's competition, however, is Russian Figure Skating Championship gold medalist Kamila Valieva, who beat out Alexandra Trusova for the top spot in December.
In the men's figure skating competition, two competitors stand out.
Back in the states, all eyes are on six-time U.S. Figure Skating Championship gold medalist Nathan Chen. Also a three-time World Figure Skating Championship gold medalist and a 2018 Olympic team bronze winner, Chen has a clear path to the podium this year. However, the U.S. competitor will have a tough opponent in Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, a 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics men's competition gold medalist.
The 2022 Winter Olympics officially opens Feb. 4 with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Games will begin on Feb. 2.