Lead by teen prodigy Yulia Lipnitskaya and polished veteran Yevgeny Plushenko, Russia grabbed its first gold medal of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games on Sunday in the team figure skating final.
The New York Times reports that following its failed attempt at gold in 2010, Russian figure skating has made its way back to the top. In an inaugural team final, Russia posted the highest scores in five of the eight performances. The team found itself on top of the medal podium, followed by Canada with the silver medal and the United States with the bronze.
Russian coach Tamara Moskvina said of the new final, “It’s important because it is not an individual event but a team event, and it brings joy to the whole country.”
According to USA Today, the Russians are expected to also take medals in the women’s figure skating competition, the figure skating pairs and the ice dancing competition.
“Russian figure skating is coming back,” said Elena Ilinykh of Russia’s ice dancing duo. “That’s the message we want to send to the world.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin even made an appearance to congratulate the newly crowned Olympic champions.
Thus far, Russia has collected four Olympic medals in Sochi – the same total as each the United States, Canada and the Netherlands. Norway currently leads in the medal count with a total of seven medals.
Image: NBC