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Four figure skating events were held at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, at the Palavela venue.

Medal table

Pairs

This event is performed by partners consisting of a female and male skater. The competition consists of two segments. A short program is skated first, with eight required elements performed within 2 minutes and 50 seconds. All pairs progress to the free skate, where each pair skates for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. There were 20 pairs who competed at the 2006 Games.

Short Program

The pairs short program was the first figure skating event of the Olympics, and took place on 11 February, with the free skate completed on 13 February. Two-time World Champions and Russians Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin were the pre-tournament favorites to win^[1]. They were expected to be challenged by two-time World Champions and reigning Olympic bronze medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, but an injury to Zhao initially kept them out of contention for the gold medal. However, the team was able to get back into shape for the Olympics ^[2].

Totmianina and Marinin took the lead after the short program, with a score of 68.64 pts. Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China, skating to Led Zeppelin's song Kashmir, ranked second with 64.72 pts, followed closely by Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia with 64.27 pts. Close behind were two other Chinese pairs, Pang Qing and Tong Jian (63.19 pts) and Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo (62.32 pts)^[3]. Americans Rena Inoue and John Baldwin made history in the short program by landing the first throw triple axel in Olympic competition, putting them in sixth place^[4].

Free Skate

In the free skating, Totmianina and Marinin were described by NBC as "untouchable"^[5], and the pair scored a personal best 135.84 points in this segment for a combined score of 204.48. Their victory was described as "a rout"^[5] The pair had suffered a setback in 2004 when Marinin dropped Totmianina during a lift, putting her in the hospital with a concussion.

The Chinese pair of Zhang and Zhang were the last to take the ice on the night of the free skate^[6]. In trying to surpass the Russian pair, Zhang and Zhang attempted a throw quadruple salchow jump, never before completed successfully in competition. However, Zhang Dan fell on this element and suffered a painful injury to her knee. Since she was temporarily unable to continue, the music was stopped by the event referee. Upon the trainer's approval for Zhang Dan to continue, the couple continued their routine, "nail[ing] every other element" for the remaining four minutes^[5]. NBC reported that the entire crowd gave the pair a standing ovation and showed shots of their fellow competitors, including Totmianiana and Marinin, also standing^[7]. Finishing second in both parts of the competition, Zhang and Zhang received silver medals with an overall score of 189.73 pts.

Their countrymen, Shen and Zhao, who were in fifth place after the short program, pulled up two places in the free skate to take the bronze medals, as they did at Salt Lake City four years earlier, with a total score of 186.91. They edged the third Chinese couple, Pang Qing and Tong Jian out of the podium by just 0.24 pts.

Petrova and Tikhonov, who were in third place after the short program, dropped to fifth place overall. Germans Aljona Sawtschenko and Robin Szolkowy, who were in seventh after the short, scored the fifth best total of the free skate competition to go up on spot. Inoue and Baldwin were unable to complete their throw triple axel in the long and dropped to seventh overall.

While Totmianina and Marinin extended the streak of gold medals in pairs for Russia and former Soviet Union to 12 consecutive Olympics, dating back to 1964, the silver medals for Zhang and Zhang are China's best ever achievement in Olympic figure skating. Up until this point, China had three bronze medals in figure skating: two from China's Lu Chen and one from Shen and Zhao.

Medals

Men

This individual event was structured in a similar manner to the pairs event, with a short program and a free skate. 30 skaters entered the short program, but only the top 24 competitors continued to the free skate.

The clear favorite before the competition was three-time world champion Evgeny Plushenko, who missed the 2005 World Championships due to injury. Reigning world champion Stéphane Lambiel was considered Plushenko's main competition for the gold. Other notable competitors coming into the event included Canadians Jeffrey Buttle (the reigning world silver medalist) and Emanuel Sandhu, France's Brian Joubert, Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, and the strong American team of Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek (reigning world bronze medalist), and Matt Savoie.

Short Program

The short program took place on February 14. Plushenko easily took the lead after the short program. He bettered his personal best (also the world record) score with a massive 90.66 pts, over 10 points ahead of Weir, who finished in second with 80.00 pts. Lambiel doubled his planned triple axel but still ended up in third place with a score of 79.04 pts, less than a point behind Weir. Joubert was ranked fourth with 77.77 pts, followed by Takahashi and Buttle with 73.77 and 73.29 pts respectively. Buttle and fellow Canadian Sandhu, who ranked seventh, both had trouble with their jumps, but their high program component scores kept them in contention for medals. Savoie had a solid skate to finish eighth, while teammate Lysacek fell on his triple axel and doubled his triple flip to finish a disappointing tenth in this phase of the competition.

Free Skate

In the free skate, completed on February 16, Plushenko set another world record by garnering 167.67 pts. for his free program. He started his program off with quad-triple-double and had only one flaw, doubling his triple flip. He finished with the highest technical and program component scores of the night.

Despite a few jump errors in his free, Lambiel's opening quad combination and exquisite spins kept him in second overall, though he finished only fourth in the free skate. Though Buttle started his free skate with a mistake on his quad, he made a huge comeback in the second half with nice jumps and lovely artistry, finishing second in the free skate and third overall. Joubert had a crowd-pleasing free skate but made several jump errors and finished a disappointing seventh in the free and sixth overall.

The Americans had a solid night of skating in the free led by Lysacek. He skated his best free of the year and landed two triple axels, getting 152.28 pts. This was the third best free of the night and a huge improvement from his short, moving him up to fourth overall. Weir omitted his planned quad toe and only had one jump combination, which left him short on technical content and in sixth place in the free skate. Overall, he finished right behind Lysacek in fifth. Savoie had a solid skate with gorgeous transitions and jumps, though he doubled his two final planned triples to finish fifth in the free and seventh overall.

Takahashi skated fairly strongly in his free but was penalized in the marking for repeating too many jumps and underrotating others. He finished ninth in the free and eighth overall. Belgium's Kevin Van Der Perren made huge leaps in the free with 132.03 pts and moving up from thirteenth in the short to ninth overall. Sandhu, on the other hand, fell apart in his free skate, falling twice and singling a couple of jumps. His high program component scores couldn't keep him in the top ten. He finished thirteenth overall.

Medals

Ice Dancing

This competition began with a compulsory dance (Ravensburg Waltz) on February 17, in which all couples performed the same dance. The original dance, in which skaters performed to a designated set of rhythms (Latin combination), was held two days later, and the 4-minute free dance concluded the competition on February 20. 24 couples entered the competition, and all of them continued through to the free dance. Coming into the competition, Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, the reigning world champions, were the clear favorites. Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, who won silver medals at the last World Championships, aimed to win the first Olympic medals in ice dance for USA since 1976. Teams from Ukraine, France, Canada, Israel, Lithuania, Italy, and Bulgaria were also vieing for a medal.

Compulsory Dance

There were a few surprises during the Compulsory Dance, which saw reigning world champions (undefeated this season) Navka and Kostomarov finishing second to the Italian team of Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio. The Italians, who were bronze medalists at the Figure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake, decided to make a comeback at these Olympic Games and had not competed at any international events since the last Games. They edged the Russians in the techincal score and tied them in propram components. Bulgaria's Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski were another surprise finishing in third after the CD, followed by Canadians Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. Reigning world bronze medalists, Ukranians Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov, finished in fifth. The biggest surprise was the sixth place finish of Belbin & Agosto, who were originally seen as the main pair who could really challenge the Russian domination of Navka & Kostomarov. The French team of Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder follow, while another team making a comeback, Lithuanians Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, who finished third at the 2006 European Championships, sit in eighth. The Israeli team of Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski found themselves in thirteenth after a fall during a step sequence. It is interesting to note that the Italian leaders and sixth placed Belbin and Agosto were separated by just over a point, so the Americans could easily make up that difference.

Original Dance

In the second portion of the dance competition, mistakes prevailed. Navka and Kostomarov did not seem to be affected by this and gave a solid performance to finish first in this portion and overall. Belbin and Agosto gave a crowd-pleasing performance which was placed second by the judges, putting them just over 1 point behind the Russians overall.

CD leaders Fusar-Poli and Margaglio had a very disappointing skate with Margaglio losing his balance causing both to fall. They finished tenth in the the OD, keeping them well out of contention for a gold medal with Navka and Kostomarov almost 10 points ahead of them. At the end of the performance, Fusar-Poli gave her partner a glare and broke down in tears in the kiss and cry. They were seventh overall heading into the free dance.

Grushina and Goncharov were good enough to finish third in the OD and overall, while Delobel and Schoenfelder were right behind. Despite troubles on their combination spin, Denkova and Staviyski were able to land in the top five. Chait and Sakhnovski finished sixth in the OD and ninth overall, followed by Dubreuil and Lauzon who received a 2-point deduction for a painful fall that required Lauzon to carry his partner off the ice. Drobiazko and Vanagas also received deductions for a fall and for holding a lift for too long.

Free Dance

Dubreuil and Lauzon announced they would withdraw from the free dance portion of the competition after Dubreuil's nasty fall on a rotational lift in the original dance, leaving them out of medal contention. Dubreuil had fallen on her right hip during the original dance, leaving her too badly injured to compete effectively.

Navka and Kostomarov were clearly in a class above their competition. Skating their passionate dance to Carmen, the Russian favorites received the highest technical and program components scores. Finishing behind them in the free dance and fourth overall were Delobel and Schoenfelder, with strong elements as well. Bronze medalists Grushina and Goncharov finished third in the free dance with a clean, yet slow skate. Belbin and Agosto captured the audience's attention with a powerful and exciting skate as they danced to flamenco music, but made tiny mistakes in their final twizzles and step sequence. This put them in fourth for the free dance but second overall. Their silver medal is the first for the Americans in 30 years. Fifth in the free and overall, Denkova and Staviyski had strong technical content, but lost two points because of extending one of their lifts. Drobiazko and Vanagas finished sixth in the free, followed by Chait and Sakhnovski, skating to the classic dance music Bolero. Fusar-Poli and Margaglio finished eighth in the free with a solid program, but the most memorable moment of their skate was at the end, when Fusar-Poli fell to her knees in tears, forgiving her partner for the fall in the OD.

Medals

Ladies

The ladies' individual event was conducted in the same way as the men's, except that the free skate is only 4 minutes long. The short program was held on February 21 and the free skate on February 23.

The leading contender heading into the Olympics was 2005 world champion Irina Slutskaya, the first woman to win the European Championship seven times. Prior to the Olympic Games, she had only been beaten once this season, by Japan's Mao Asada, who was too young to compete at these Olympics.

Favorite Michelle Kwan, who had previously won silver at the 1998 Winter Olympics and bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics, was forced to withdraw due to a groin injury. As a 5-time world champion and 9-time U.S. champion, the Olympic gold was the only major title missing from her resume. Reigning U.S. bronze medalist Emily Hughes (the younger sister of the last Olympic champion Sarah Hughes) took her place on the American team, joining two-time world silver medalist Sasha Cohen and Kimmie Meissner, the second American woman to ever land the triple axel in competition.

Japan also sent a very strong ladies contingent to Turin with 2004 world champion Shizuka Arakawa, two-time world medalist Fumie Suguri and 2004 world junior champion Miki Ando. Other potential medal contenders included Russia's Elena Sokolova, who won world silver in 2003; two-time Canadian champion Joannie Rochette; and 2005 world bronze medalist Carolina Kostner, Italy's flagbearer.

Short Program

Skating last in the short, Cohen wowed the crowd and the judges with a flawless, fiery program. Nailing her three jump elements and having the best spins and spirals of the night, Cohen blasted through her step sequence and into first place. Slutskaya, beating Cohen technically but not artistically, finished behind Cohen by just 0.03 points. Arakawa also had a clean skate, finishing behind Slutskaya by only 0.70 points. The top three being so close, the winner of the free would likely win the gold.

Suguri had a strong skate but a lack of level 4 spins and spirals kept her out of the top three. Meissner, the second skater in the short and finishing fifth in the short, skated beautifully in her first major international event with a triple lutz - triple toe combination, one of the few landed in the competition. The surprise in the top six was Georgia's Elene Gedevanishvili, who also performed a triple - triple combination.

Besides a slight stumble in her serpentine steps, Hughes also had a brilliant debut at her first major international event, finishing seventh in the short. Her sister Sarah was in the stands cheering her on. Rounding out the top ten was Ando, stepping out of her combination; Rochette, putting her hand down on the triple flip; and Sarah Meier of Switzerland. Kostner had an unfortunate fall on her triple flip and finished just out of the top ten, but had strong program component marks and the support of the crowd. Skating early in the competition, Sokolova took herself out of the running for a medal when she fell out of her lutz and singled a loop. She finished 18th in the short.

Free Skate

Though only landing five triple jumps, Arakawa was clearly the best of the night and easily won the gold medal. Skating right after Cohen and realizing she wasn't perfect, Arakawa decided to scale back her technical content and played it safe, not attempting her triple - triple combinations. Her only error was doubling a loop. Skating with elegance and power, Arakawa had the highest technical and program component scores of the night.

Cohen, looking much more nervous than in the short and having her groin wrapped due to an injury, fell on her opening triple lutz, then fell out of the triple flip, her next jump. Despite these early mistakes, Cohen was able to pull herself together and land the rest of her jumps and execute her trademark spins and spirals. Her only other flaw in the skate was two-footing the second jump of her triple toe - triple salchow sequence.

Slutskaya, skating last in the free like she did in 2002, had the chance to take the gold from a conservative Arakawa and a flawed Cohen. However, she was unable to capitalize, doubling a flip, then falling on a triple loop. Lower grades of execution on her spirals and steps and lower program component scores kept Slutskaya behind Cohen in both technical and program component scores.

Besides doubling a flip, Suguri had a solid skate that left her in tears and placed her fourth overall. Technically, she was stronger than Slutskaya, but finished behind her in program components. Rochette had one of the best skates of the night, completeing six clean triples, the most of the top ladies during the free skate. Combined with strong choreography, Rochette's skate was able to move her up to fifth in the free and overall. Meissner was unable to complete her triple - triple combinations in the free and fell to sixth overall, while Hughes finished in seventh, despite a fall on the triple loop. Despite not accomplishing what American teens Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes did before them (winning Olympic gold), Meissner and Hughes had respectable debuts at the Olympics.

Meier finished eighth with a relatively clean skate, but Kostner, finishing in ninth overall, made several mistakes. Gedevanishvilli's program was marred by mistakes, but she was able to squeak into the top ten. Sokolova made a comeback in the free, but still finished a disappointing 14th overall.

Medals

Arakawa made history by winning Japan's first ever ladies' figure skating gold in the Winter Olympics and the only medal for Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Champions Gala

The traditional Figure Skating Champions Gala took place on February 24 at Palavela, featuring exhibition performances by the top five placers in the four figure skating events and all the Italian skaters. Pairs skaters Zhang and Zhang (second in pairs) did not participate in the gala.

The following is a partial list of skaters who appeared in the Champions Gala (in order of skate):

Faiella and Scali (Italian dance team), Karel Zelenka (Italian men skater), Silvia Fontana (Italian ladies skater), Denkova and Staviyski (fifth in dance), Joannie Rochette (fifth in ladies), Inoue and Baldwin (seventh in pairs), Johnny Weir (fifth in men), Delobel and Schoenfelder (fourth in dance), Fumie Suguri (fourth in ladies), Petrova and Tikhonov (fifth in pairs), Evan Lysacek (fourth in men), Grushina and Goncharov (third in dance), Irina Slutskaya (third in ladies), Fusar-Poli and Margaglio (Italian dance team), Carolina Kostner (Italian ladies skater), Pang and Tong (fourth in pairs), Jeffrey Buttle (third in men), Belbin and Agosto (second in dance), Sasha Cohen (second in ladies), Shen and Zhao (third in pairs), Stéphane Lambiel (second in men), Navka and Kostomarov (first in dance), Shizuka Arakawa (first in ladies), Totmianina and Marinin (first in pairs), and Evgeni Plushenko (first in men).

Russian pair Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin and Evgeni Plushenko skate accompanied by Edwin Marton at the violin, playing from the ice.

At the end of the gala, the skaters all gathered together to close the show with their bows..

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2006 Winter Olympics medal count Pos Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 1  Germany 11 12 6 29 2  United States 9 9 7 25 3  Austria 9 7 7 23 4  Russia 8 6 8 22 5  Canada 7 10 7 24 6  Sweden 7 2 5 14 7  Korea 6 3 2 11 8  Switzerland 5 4 5 14 9  Italy 5 0 6 11 10  France 3 2 4 9  Netherlands 3 2 4 9 12  Estonia 3 0 0 3 13  Norway 2 8 9 19 14  China 2 4 5 11 15  Czech Republic 1 2 1 4 16  Croatia 1 2 0 3 17  Australia 1 0 1 2 18  Japan 1 0 0 1 19  Finland 0 6 3 9 20  Poland 0 1 1 2 21  Belarus 0 1 0 1  Bulgaria 0 1 0 1  Great Britain 0 1 0 1  Slovakia 0 1 0 1 25  Ukraine 0 0 2 2 26  Latvia 0 0 1 1     84 84 84 252

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