Kamila Valieva made history at the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Sunday night.
During the final event of the team competition, the women’s free skate, the 15-year-old Russian became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in the Olympics. She landed another quadruple jump later in her routine, but then fell during her third attempt. The performance allowed her to soar ahead of her opponents in her Olympic debut and ensure her team a gold medal.
HISTORY MADE!
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 7, 2022
15-year-old Kamila Valiyeva is the first woman to successfully land a quad at the #WinterOlympics. pic.twitter.com/rfXzOM09lH
Valieva finished the routine with a total segment score of 178.92, which gave the ROC 74 points in the team competition. The USA finished with 65 points for a silver medal and Japan finished with 63 for bronze. Valieva finished more than 30 points ahead of free skate second-place finisher Kaori Sakamoto of Japan (148.66).
MORE: What is the ROC?
Before Valieva took to the ice, the USA held the lead thanks to Karen Chen’s free skate. Chen had an emotional reaction as she completed her routine.
The emotion says it all. ❤️@Karebearsk8 x #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/Ml9Y6KVnEC
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 7, 2022
The gold medal put the ROC in the overall medal lead with six (two each of gold, silver, and bronze). Team USA was tied for second with Norway, Japan, Austria and Italy with three medals each.
MORE: Olympic medal count
The individual figure skating competitions will take place this week, starting with the men’s short program on Tuesday. USA star Vincent Zhou’s status for the events was in doubt Monday after he reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.