After winning gold in the women’s singles competition on Friday, Alina Zagitova had to shout out the gold medalist of the men’s competition too.
The 15-year-old Russian figure skater put together a stunning performance in her free program to finish with a total score of 239.57 and take home the gold medal. Speaking with the media after her triumph, Zagitova showed love to Japanese men’s counterpart Yuzuru Hanyu, who himself won individual gold last week. Here is what she had to say, per Jackie Wong of Rocker Skating:
Zagitova: Yuzuru Hanyu is another role model. He's had ups and downs. For me, he's a legend – he lost almost half the season and yet he could put himself together and skate so well. That commands a lot of respect #PyeongChang2018
— Jackie Wong (@rockerskating) February 23, 2018
The two figure skating phenoms also appeared to have met face-to-face earlier in the PyeongChang Games, according to images posted by fans on Twitter.
Yuzu and Alina Zagitova won the gold medals for men's figure skating and women's figure skating, congratulations to you!It is kind of wonderful fate! pic.twitter.com/VZecT6Yuui
— 美雪 (@judy711117) February 23, 2018
When you also consider the extent of what Hanyu, who is only 23 himself, battled through to win his gold, it’s easy to see why there’s a deep mutual respect between the two young stars as they both now sit atop their sport.
