TEAM USA EARNS SILVER IN OLYMPIC GAMES TEAM EVENT

The U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team earned its best-ever finish in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 Team Event, finishing second with 65 total points on Monday afternoon in Beijing and earning the silver medal. The United States’ 65 total points is its highest Olympic Team Event tally ever.

“I think a silver medal is something to be incredibly proud of,” said Team USA co-captain Evan Bates. “It’s the highest finish ever for our country in the history of this event. We’ve been lucky enough to sit in the box for every one of those events to cheer on our teams. This year, knowing that we would get the chance to participate was a big deal to us.”

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) won gold with 74 points, while Japan took

bronze with 63 points. Previously, the United States had earned the bronze medal in 2014 and 2018. With the medal, four-time Olympian and team captain Evan Bates becomes the oldest U.S. Olympic medalist in any skating discipline at 32 years old.

In the pairs free skate, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier earned a mark of 128.97 (6 points) in their free skate to finish fifth. The Irvine, California-based pair opened their program to “Fix You” and “Redemption Through Love” with a Level 4 triple twist and went on to complete five more Level 4 elements.

The ROC’s Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov finished first in the segment with 145.20 points (10 points). Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan finished second with 139.60 (9 points), and China’s Cheng Peng and Yang Jin took third with 131.75 (8 points).

In the free dance, Madison Chock and Evan Bates bolstered the U.S.’s hold on second place with a personal best 129.07-point alien-themed program to finish first overall (10 points). Their elements scored all positive grades of execution, including five Level 4 elements.

ROC’s Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov finished second with 128.17 (9 points) and Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished third with 124.39 (8 points).

In the women’s free skate, Karen Chen finished fourth to earn a score of 131.52 and 7 points for Team USA. She opened her program to “Butterfly Lovers Concerto” with a double Axel-triple toe loop combination and earned Level 4 on four elements.

Kamila Valieva of the ROC finished first with 178.92 (10 points) and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto earned a mark of 148.66 (9 points). Canada’s Madeline Schizas finished third with a score of 132.04, earning 8 points for her country.

The men’s individual competition begins with the short program on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 9:15 a.m. (8:15 p.m. ET Monday, Feb. 7). Fans can follow along on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone Competition Central

Photo is credited to Getty