Controversy shrouds the women's figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, thanks to a positive test for a banned substance and the decision to allow the participant to continue her pursuit of the gold medal.
Kamila Valieva's name is on the lips of the skating community ahead of the women's singles free skate competition. If she succeeds in her journey to the top of the skating world, the discussion will grow louder.
The free skate and pairs competitions make up the last of the figure skating events at the 2022 Olympics.
Find out when and how to watch, who has already secured a medal in their sport and which names to keep an eye on with this preview.
Men's Singles
Gold: Nathan Chen, USA
Silver: Yuma Kagiyama, Japan
Bronze: Shoma Uno, Japan
Women's Singles
To be awarded February 17
Pair Skating
To be awarded February 19
Favorite: Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov, ROC (+140, bet $100 to win $140)
Top American Pair: Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (+5000)
Ice Dance
Gold: Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, France
Silver: Victoria Sinitisina and Nikita Katsalapov, Russian Olympic Committee
Bronze: Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, USA
Team Event
Gold: Russian Olympic Committee
Silver: United States
Bronze: Japan
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Wednesday, February 16
Women's Short Program, re-air (5:00 p.m., USA)
Thursday, February 17
Women's Singles, free skate (5:00 a.m., USA and Peacock)
Women's Singles, free skate, re-air (8:00 p.m. NBC)
Friday, February 18
Pairs, short program (5:30 a.m., USA and Peacock)
Pairs, short program, re-air (8:00 p.m., NBC)
Saturday, February 19
Pairs, free skate (6:00 a.m., USA and Peacock)
Pairs, free skate, re-air (8:00 p.m., NBC)
Exhibition Gala (11:00 p.m., USA and Peacock)
Exhibition Gala, re-air (11:30 p.m., NBC)
Controversy abounds in women's singles, where ROC's Valieva will participate in the free skate Thursday despite testing positive for a banned substance prior to the start of the 2022 Games.
The 15-year-old skater sits atop the leaderboard entering the event having finished first in the short program.
Her continued involvement in the Games has led to dismay from former Olympian Adam Rippon and uncharacteristic frustration from NBC Olympic commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir.
She will skate for gold Thursday in the free skate and is the favorite to win. Valieva previously set a record for highest score ever with her short program in the European Championships.
Teammates Anna Shcherbakova and Aleksandra Trusova are her stiffest competition at a Games where some pundits predicted the Russian trio would sweep the medals.
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan finished third in the short program, behind Valieva and Shcherbakova, and hopes to crash the ROC's plans of dominance.
Americans Mariah Bell, Alysa Liu and Karen Chen all finished their short programs in the top 15 but will face an uphill battle to medal.
If Valieva finishes in the top three, there will be no medal ceremony for the team or women's events.
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