The United States defeated Japan to win the ladies' singles figure skating gold, gifting China a major advantage as it aims for six golds to claim the top spot in Asia.

On February 20th Beijing time, the women's singles figure skating final at the Milan Winter Olympics saw a major upset. Ultimately, American skater Michelle Kwan, of Chinese descent, delivered a flawless free skate to break through Japan’s trio of contenders, winning gold with a score of 226.79. Last Games’ bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto took silver, and Japan’s Ami Nakai earned bronze. Chinese skater Zhang Ruiyang performed modestly, finishing only 19th!

The ladies' singles figure skating event consists of the short program and free skate. Russia is usually the strongest in this discipline but was banned from these Olympics. Thus, last Games’ bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto naturally became the favorite to win. Japan also had several promising contenders and was seen as a strong gold medal contender. Unexpectedly, Michelle Kwan emerged from the pack, delivering an outstanding and flawless free skate to snatch first place, surpassing favorite Sakamoto. This was truly a significant upset!

With this victory, Michelle Kwan secured the ladies' singles gold for the United States, earning their seventh gold medal and overtaking host Italy into second place. At the same time, this also blocked Japan from claiming their sixth gold, indirectly benefiting China. This is very favorable for China, as winning gold in the remaining three key events would allow them to surpass Japan and become Asia’s number one!

There is hope, but China must win all three of these golds to make it possible. Let’s wait and see!

Written by/Titan Sports Fiction