Moscow, Russia

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Olympic Champion Alina Zagitova of Russia skated off with the gold medal as the Rostelecom Cup concluded with the Ladies Free Skating in Moscow on Saturday. Her Russian teammate Sofia Samodurova earned the silver, her second Grand Prix medal, while Korean skater Eunsoo Lim rose from sixth place to capture the bronze medal.

Zagitova’s expressive performance to “Carmen” was highlighted by a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, a triple Salchow and excellent spins. However, the European Champion underrotated a triple Lutz and a triple flip and popped another flip into a double.

She scored 142.17 points and racked up 222.95 points overall for her second victory on the Grand Prix circuit this season.

“I can’t say that my performance was that good today, but I am glad that I was able to pull my combinations together. On the last jump I made a stupid mistake and I will keep working,” the 16-year-old said.

GP RUS Sofia Samodurova(RUS)2018©International Skating Union(ISU) 1062841712

Sofia Samodurova (RUS) earned silver for her second Grand Prix medal 2018© International Skating Union (ISU)

Performing to the “Burlesque” soundtrack, Samodurova landed six clean triples and only one triple toe was underrotated. She also picked up a level four for two spins to earn 130.61 points for a total score of 198.01 points.

“I am happy that I was able to skate two clean programs. There were some mistakes, my skate was not so clean, and this motivates me to work even harder,” the Skate America bronze medalist said.

Lim put in a solid performance to the “Chicago” soundtrack that included a triple Lutz-triple toe combination and three more clean triples. The 15-year-old posted a season’s best with 127.91 points in the Free Skating and accumulated 185.67 points overall.

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Eunsoo Lim (KOR) posted a season’s best of 127.91 points in the Free Skating 2018© International Skating Union (ISU)

“I didn’t do my best performance, but I tried to do better than in the short program. I have to skate better in my next competition, but overall I am satisfied. This season is really important for me, because it is my first senior season,” Lim said.

Alexia Paganini (SUI) turned in a good performance as well, but lost a few points on spins and on an underrotated triple Salchow to drop to fourth on 182.50 points. Yuna Shiraiwa (JPN) finished fifth on 180.93 points while Elizabet Tursynbaeva (KAZ) dropped from fourth to sixth (180.45 points). Skate Canada silver medalist Mako Yamashita (JPN) finished seventh (161.22 points).

zagitova2 GettyImages 1062841390 Alina Zagitova (RUS) sealed her second victory on the Grand Prix circuit this season 2018 © International Skating Union (ISU)

Gracie Gold (USA) withdrew before the Ladies Free Skating citing emotional stress. She stood in 10th place following the Short Program.

Zagitova qualified for the ISU Grand Prix Final with two wins, while Samodurova will have to wait and see what happens at the Grand Prix in Grenoble, France next week.

For full results go here. Follow the discussion on social media by using #GPFigure #FigureSkating.