Figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles

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Women's singles
at the XX Olympic Winter Games
VenuePalavela
Turin, Italy
DatesFebruary 21, 2006
February 23, 2006
Competitors29 from 19 nations
Winning score191.34
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Shizuka Arakawa  Japan
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Sasha Cohen  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Irina Slutskaya  Russia
← 2002
2010 →
Figure skating at the
2006 Winter Olympics
Singlesmenladies
Pairsmixed
Ice dancemixed

Ladies' single skating was contested during the figure skating events at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

This individual event was structured in a similar manner to the pairs event, with a short program and a free skating. 30 skaters entered the short program, but only the top 24 competitors continued to the free skating. Unlike the men's event, the free skating is only 4 minutes long. The short program was held on February 21 and the free skating on February 23.

The leading contender heading into the Olympics was 2005 World champion Russia's Irina Slutskaya, the first woman to win the European Championship seven times. Prior to the Olympic Games, she had only been beaten once this season, by Japan's Mao Asada, who was too young to compete at these Olympics.

Favorite Michelle Kwan, who had previously won silver at the 1998 Winter Olympics and bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics, was forced to withdraw due to a groin injury. As a 5-time world champion and 9-time U.S. champion, the Olympic gold was the only major title missing from her resume. U.S. national bronze medalist Emily Hughes (the younger sister of the last Olympic champion Sarah Hughes) took her place on the American team, joining two-time world silver medalist and U.S. national champion Sasha Cohen and U.S. national silver medalist Kimmie Meissner, the second American woman to land the triple Axel in competition.

Japan also sent a very strong ladies contingent to Turin with 2004 world champion Shizuka Arakawa, two-time world bronze medalist Fumie Suguri and two-time Japanese national champion Miki Ando. Other potential medal contenders included Russia's Elena Sokolova, who won world silver in 2003; two-time Canadian champion Joannie Rochette; 2005 world bronze medalist Carolina Kostner; 2005 European silver medalist Susanna Pöykiö; five-time Swiss champion Sarah Meier; 2005 European bronze medalist Elena Liashenko; and 2004 European champion Júlia Sebestyén.

Arakawa made history by winning Japan's first ever ladies' figure skating gold in the Winter Olympics and the only medal for Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Short program

Skating last in the short, Cohen wowed the crowd and the judges with a flawless program. Completing her three jump elements and having the best spins and spirals of the night, Cohen came in first place. Slutskaya, beating Cohen technically but not artistically, finished behind Cohen by just 0.03 points. Arakawa also had a clean skate, finished behind Slutskaya by only 0.70 points. With the top three being so close, the winner of the free would likely win the gold.

Suguri had a strong skate but a lack of level 4 spins and spirals kept her out of the top three. Meissner, the second skater in the short and finishing fifth in the short, skated cleanly in her first major international event with a triple Lutz - triple toe combination, one of the few landed in the competition. The surprise in the top six was Georgia's Elene Gedevanishvili, who performed a triple flip - triple toe combination.

Besides a slight stumble in her serpentine steps, Hughes also had a strong debut at her first major international event, finishing seventh in the short. Her sister Sarah was in the stands cheering her on. Rounding out the top ten was Ando, stepping out of her combination; Rochette, putting her hand down on the triple flip; and Sarah Meier, who skated a clean program. Kostner fell on her triple flip combination and finished just out of the top ten but had strong program component marks and the support of the crowd. Skating early in the competition, Sokolova took herself out of the running for a medal when she fell out of her Lutz and singled a loop. She finished 18th in the short.

Free skating

Arakawa, despite media pressure and being labeled an underdog, performed a five triple jump program which was enough to win the gold medal. Skating right after Cohen, Arakawa's skating was conservative but solid, no triple - triple combinations. She ended up doubling her loop jump, her nemesis jump. Skating with elegance and power, Arakawa had the highest technical and program component scores of the night.

Cohen, looking much more nervous than in the short and having her groin wrapped due to an injury, fell on her opening triple Lutz, then stepped out of the triple flip with her hand down, her next jump. Despite these early mistakes, Cohen was able to pull herself together and land the rest of her jumps and execute her trademark spins and spirals. Her only other flaw in the skate was two-footing the second jump of her triple toe - triple salchow sequence.

Slutskaya, skating last in the free like she did in 2002, was trying to become the first Russian woman to win the Olympic title. However, she came up short, doubling a flip, then falling on a triple loop. Her lower technical difficulty (only four triple jumps) and lower program component scores kept Slutskaya behind Cohen but ahead of Suguri.

Suguri had a solid skate that left her in tears and placed her fourth overall. Technically, she scored higher than Slutskaya despite having two jump combinations that were doubles, but finished behind her in program components. Rochette had one of the best skates of the night, completing six clean triples, the most of the top ladies in the free skating. Combined with strong choreography, Rochette's skate was able to move her up to fifth in the free and overall. Meissner was unable to complete her triple - triple combinations in the free and fell to sixth overall, while Hughes finished in seventh, despite a fall on the triple loop. Despite not accomplishing what American teens Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes did before them (winning Olympic gold), Meissner and Hughes had respectable debuts at the Olympics, and ostensibly Lipinski and the elder Hughes had already medalled at major international competitions while Meissner and the younger Hughes had not.

Meier finished eighth with a relatively clean skate but singled an Axel and doubled a Lutz jump. Kostner finished ninth overall after making major mistakes. Gedevanishvilli's program was marred by mistakes, but she was able to finish in the top ten.

Results

Short program

Pl. Name Nation TSS TES PCS SS TR PE CH IN Deduction StN
1 Sasha Cohen  United States 66.73 35.33 31.40 7.75 7.54 8.00 7.89 8.07 0 #29
2 Irina Slutskaya  Russia 66.70 36.21 30.49 7.79 7.21 7.79 7.57 7.75 0 #18
3 Shizuka Arakawa  Japan 66.02 35.93 30.09 7.82 7.29 7.57 7.54 7.39 0 #21
4 Fumie Suguri  Japan 61.75 32.61 29.14 7.39 7.00 7.32 7.32 7.39 0 #27
5 Kimmie Meissner  United States 59.40 34.20 25.20 6.54 6.14 6.21 6.36 6.25 0 #02
6 Elene Gedevanishvili  Georgia 57.90 33.25 24.65 6.32 5.89 6.25 6.18 6.18 0 #13
7 Emily Hughes  United States 57.08 31.71 25.37 6.46 6.04 6.43 6.32 6.46 0 #15
8 Miki Ando  Japan 56.00 29.12 26.88 6.96 6.50 6.64 6.71 6.79 0 #14
9 Joannie Rochette  Canada 55.85 28.87 26.98 6.86 6.61 6.71 6.79 6.75 0 #05
10 Sarah Meier  Switzerland 55.57 30.69 24.88 6.43 5.89 6.29 6.18 6.32 0 #17
11 Carolina Kostner  Italy 53.77 26.25 28.52 7.36 6.93 7.07 7.11 7.18 1 #28
12 Susanna Poykio  Finland 53.74 28.43 25.31 6.71 6.14 6.25 6.36 6.18 0 #03
13 Elena Liashenko  Ukraine 52.35 27.47 24.88 6.39 5.96 6.21 6.18 6.36 0 #26
14 Mira Leung  Canada 50.61 29.38 21.23 5.39 5.14 5.32 5.36 5.32 0 #07
15 Liu Yan  China 49.84 27.24 22.60 5.86 5.43 5.61 5.71 5.64 0 #10
16 Júlia Sebestyén  Hungary 49.58 26.75 23.83 6.25 5.61 5.96 6.04 5.93 1 #16
17 Idora Hegel  Croatia 47.06 26.74 20.32 5.21 4.82 5.07 5.18 5.11 0 #06
18 Elena Sokolova  Russia 46.69 21.13 25.56 6.64 6.14 6.14 6.46 6.57 0 #11
19 Viktória Pavuk  Hungary 46.40 26.78 19.62 4.96 4.71 4.93 5.00 4.93 0 #09
20 Kiira Korpi  Finland 44.84 23.84 21.00 5.50 5.00 5.25 5.32 5.18 0 #04
21 Fleur Maxwell  Luxembourg 44.53 24.33 20.20 5.04 4.82 5.11 5.14 5.14 0 #08
22 Tugba Karademir  Turkey 44.20 25.70 18.50 4.86 4.36 4.68 4.61 4.61 0 #01
23 Silvia Fontana  Italy 42.47 19.87 22.60 5.68 5.32 5.61 5.75 5.89 0 #19
24 Galina Efremenko  Ukraine 41.25 20.43 21.82 5.64 5.29 5.50 5.46 5.39 1 #22
25 Joanne Carter  Australia 40.86 21.21 20.65 5.46 4.89 5.14 5.21 5.11 1 #23
26 Roxana Luca  Romania 39.37 21.49 17.88 4.68 4.29 4.50 4.50 4.39 0 #24
27 Kim Yong-suk  North Korea 39.16 19.37 19.79 5.18 4.79 4.89 4.96 4.93 0 #25
28 Jelena Glebova  Estonia 38.47 21.06 18.41 4.82 4.36 4.61 4.68 4.54 1 #12
29 Anastasia Gimazetdinova  Uzbekistan 38.44 19.06 19.38 5.11 4.68 4.75 4.86 4.82 0 #20

Free skating

Pl. Name Nation TSS TES PCS SS TR PE CH IN Deduction StN
1 Shizuka Arakawa  Japan 125.32 62.32 63.00 8.04 7.61 7.93 7.86 7.93 0 #21
2 Sasha Cohen  United States 117.63 55.22 62.41 7.75 7.57 7.86 7.79 8.04 1 #20
3 Irina Slutskaya  Russia 114.74 53.87 61.87 7.96 7.39 7.79 7.71 7.82 1 #24
4 Fumie Suguri  Japan 113.48 54.23 59.25 7.54 7.14 7.39 7.43 7.54 0 #22
5 Joannie Rochette  Canada 111.42 55.29 56.13 7.07 6.75 7.04 7.11 7.11 0 #17
6 Kimmie Meissner  United States 106.31 52.77 53.54 6.86 6.46 6.79 6.64 6.71 0 #23
7 Emily Hughes  United States 103.79 53.82 50.97 6.46 6.11 6.50 6.32 6.46 1 #15
8 Sarah Meier  Switzerland 100.56 49.31 51.25 6.46 6.21 6.46 6.43 6.46 0 #16
9 Carolina Kostner  Italy 99.73 43.84 55.89 7.18 6.71 6.96 7.04 7.04 0 #18
10 Elena Sokolova  Russia 95.66 45.38 50.28 6.57 5.96 6.29 6.29 6.32 0 #09
11 Liu Yan  China 95.46 50.40 45.06 5.89 5.39 5.61 5.64 5.64 0 #10
12 Mira Leung  Canada 94.55 51.83 42.72 5.50 5.11 5.36 5.36 5.36 0 #08
13 Elene Gedevanishvili  Georgia 93.56 43.60 49.96 6.43 5.96 6.29 6.36 6.18 0 #19
14 Kiira Korpi  Finland 92.36 48.84 43.52 5.71 5.14 5.39 5.50 5.46 0 #06
15 Susanna Poykio  Finland 89.48 40.54 49.94 6.54 6.00 6.25 6.14 6.29 1 #13
16 Miki Ando  Japan 84.20 35.69 50.51 6.64 6.11 6.21 6.29 6.32 2 #14
17 Galina Efremenko  Ukraine 84.12 41.70 42.42 5.54 4.96 5.36 5.36 5.29 0 #03
18 Elena Liashenko  Ukraine 81.73 36.01 45.72 5.86 5.46 5.71 5.75 5.79 0 #07
19 Idora Hegel  Croatia 80.01 39.15 40.86 5.29 4.93 5.07 5.18 5.07 0 #11
20 Júlia Sebestyén  Hungary 79.68 34.86 45.82 6.18 5.50 5.57 5.75 5.64 1 #12
21 Tugba Karademir  Turkey 79.44 42.64 36.80 4.82 4.21 4.82 4.61 4.54 0 #05
22 Silvia Fontana  Italy 77.90 35.67 42.23 5.50 4.82 5.43 5.21 5.43 0 #01
23 Viktória Pavuk  Hungary 73.45 36.58 37.87 4.89 4.39 4.82 4.79 4.79 1 #02
24 Fleur Maxwell  Luxembourg 65.04 26.77 39.27 4.93 4.68 4.93 4.96 5.04 1 #04

Final standings

Rank Name Nation Total points SP FS
1 Shizuka Arakawa  Japan 191.34 3 66.02 1 125.32
2 Sasha Cohen  United States 184.36 1 66.73 2 117.63
3 Irina Slutskaya  Russia 181.44 2 66.70 3 114.74
4 Fumie Suguri  Japan 175.23 4 61.75 4 113.48
5 Joannie Rochette  Canada 167.27 9 55.85 5 111.42
6 Kimmie Meissner  United States 165.71 5 59.40 6 106.31
7 Emily Hughes  United States 160.87 7 57.08 7 103.79
8 Sarah Meier  Switzerland 156.13 10 55.57 8 100.56
9 Carolina Kostner  Italy 153.50 11 53.77 9 99.73
10 Elene Gedevanishvili  Georgia 151.46 6 57.90 13 93.56
11 Liu Yan  China 145.30 15 49.84 11 95.46
12 Mira Leung  Canada 145.16 14 50.61 12 94.55
13 Susanna Pöykiö  Finland 143.22 12 53.74 15 89.48
14 Elena Sokolova  Russia 142.35 18 46.69 10 95.66
15 Miki Ando  Japan 140.20 8 56.00 16 84.20
16 Kiira Korpi  Finland 137.20 20 44.84 14 92.36
17 Elena Liashenko  Ukraine 134.08 13 52.35 18 81.73
18 Júlia Sebestyén  Hungary 129.26 16 49.58 20 79.68
19 Idora Hegel  Croatia 127.07 17 47.06 19 80.01
20 Galina Efremenko  Ukraine 125.37 24 41.25 17 84.12
21 Tuğba Karademir  Turkey 123.64 22 44.20 21 79.44
22 Silvia Fontana  Italy 120.37 23 42.47 22 77.90
23 Viktória Pavuk  Hungary 119.85 19 46.40 23 73.45
24 Fleur Maxwell  Luxembourg 109.57 21 44.53 24 65.04
Did not advance to free skating
25 Joanne Carter  Australia 25 40.86
26 Roxana Luca  Romania 26 39.37
27 Kim Yong-suk  North Korea 27 39.16
28 Jelena Glebova  Estonia 28 37.47
29 Anastasia Gimazetdinova  Uzbekistan 29 38.44

Referee:

Technical Controller:

Technical Specialist:

Assistant Technical Specialist:

Judges:

References

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