Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia is just 18, but she is already a two-time world champion and should be the favorite for the ladies figure skating gold medal, which begins with the short program. Stay here for live updates and analysis:
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan was the leader after 24 skaters. But the final six included all the heads of state of the competition, including the two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva, at 18 the Russian team’s elder stateswoman. Her brilliant 15-year-old teammate, Alina Zagitova will also be a medal contender, as will world silver medalists Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada and Satoko Miyahara of Japan.