Russian figure skater Anna Shcherbakova has been crowned Olympic champion in Beijing, finishing ahead of Alexandra Trusova while teammate and competition favorite Kamila Valieva had to settle for fourth.
Shcherbakova, 17, produced a spellbinding free skate routine to amass a points tally of 255.95 across her two performances, giving her the gold.
Trusova, 17, made history by becoming the first woman ever to land five quads in a routine as she racked up an overall tally of 251.73 after her free skate.
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto claimed third place with a total of 233.13.
Despite a gold and silver finish for the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team, much of the attention will focus on fourth-placed Valieva.
The 15-year-old had been leading after the short skate routines but the pressure of her doping case ordeal finally seemed to take its toll as she suffered an error-strewn routine on Thursday, falling on several of her elements.
Valieva ended with a total of 224.09 – way off her world record best of 272.21 – and the teenager burst into tears after it became evident she had cruelly missed out on a medal.