UPDATE: Defending champion Yuna Kim won the short program with a score of 74.92 after her flawless performance to 'Send in the Clowns'. Kim's rival and gold medal favorite Mao Asada scored a disappointing 55.51 after a fall during her skate. Russia's Adelina Sotnicova is second with a score of 74.64, followed by Italy's Carolina Kostner with with 74.12.
See the full score below.
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The Olympic figure skating event for ladies' singles took place today with audience turning in to watch who will take home the gold medal at this year's Winter Olympics.
Among the highly anticipated performances of the night were from South Korea's Yuna Kim and Julia Lipnitskaia (Yulia Lipnitskaya).
Yuna Kim, dubbed 'Queen Yuna' and 'Ice Queen' in her home country, went head to head with Russia's teen prodigy, dubbed 'Ice princess.'
Yuna Kim is the favorite to win gold at this year's Olympics, but she will face fierce competition from emerging star Julia Lipnitskaia. 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 15-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.
30 top skaters around the world competed at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia, on Feb.19. 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 2010 Vancouver.
"I haven't met her in competition. It'll be interesting," the 15-year-old said of Yuna Kim to reporters in Sochi, after her record-breaking skate.
Other skaters to watch are Mao Asada of Japan, Gracie Gold of USA, and Carolina Kostner of Italy.
The full results of the short program on Feb. 19 can be seen below:
1. KOR Yuna KIM 74.92
2. RUS Adelina SOTNIKOVA 74.64
3. ITA Carolina KOSTNER 74.12
4. USA Gracie GOLD 68.63
5. RUS Yulia LIPNITSKAYA 65.23
6. USA Ashley WAGNER 65.21
7. 12 USA Polina EDMUNDS 61.04
8. JPN Akiko SUZUKI 60.97
9. FRA Mae Berenice MEITE 58.63
10. GER Nathalie WEINZIERL 57.63
11. CHN Zijun LI 57.55 Q
12. ITA Valentina MARCHEI 57.02
13. CAN Kaetlyn OSMOND 56.18
14. CHN Kexin ZHANG 55.80
15. JPN Kanako MURAKAMI 55.60
16. JPN Mao ASADA 55.51
17. GEO Elene GEDEVANISHVILI 54.70
18. KOR Haejin KIM 54.37
19. CAN Gabrielle DALEMAN 52.61
20. CZE Elizaveta UKOLOVA 51.87
21. SVK Nicole RAJICOVA 49.80
22. AUS Brooklee HAN 49.32
23. KOR So Youn PARK 49.14
24. NOR Anne Line GJERSEM 48.56
25. GBR Jenna MCCORKELL 48.34
26. AUT Kerstin FRANK 48.00
27. SWE Viktoria HELGESSON 47.84
28. UKR Natalia POPOVA 47.42
29. EST Elena GLEBOVA 46.19
30. BRA Isadora WILLIAMS 40.37
See the TV schedule and live stream info for the ladies' figure skating program on Feb. 19 and 20 below:
Feb. 19 - Ladies Short Program
Time: 10 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Network (live stream via NBCOlympics.com) / 8 p.m. ET on NBC (replay)
Feb. 20 – Ladies Free Skating Program
Time: 10 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Network (live stream via NBCOlympics.com) / 8 p.m. ET on NBC (replay)
Watch a video of Yuna Kim's short program at the 2014 Sochi Olympics below:
