Thread by @nytimes

Anna Shcherbakova, 17, of Russia, landed two quadruple jumps and received the highest artistic marks to win the Olympic women’s figure skating competition on Thursday. We broke down how she won the gold. nyti.ms/3GZCUCj

Shcherbakova opened her free skate assuredly with a quad flip-triple toe combination and a separate quad flip. The reigning world champion, she again delivered on the sport’s biggest stage. nyti.ms/3GZCUCj

The heavy favorite — her teammate Kamila Valieva, 15 — stumbled from the start and fell on a quad toe jump to finish a disappointing fourth amid the turmoil of a doping scandal. Entering the Olympics, she was considered the greatest skater of all time. nyti.ms/3GZCUCj

In the most ambitious jumping competition in the history of women’s Olympic figure skating, no one performed more audaciously than another Russian teenager, Alexandra Trusova, who attempted five quads, landed three cleanly and finished second. nyti.ms/3GZCUCj

Trusova won the free skate, but she trailed Shcherbakova by more than five points after the short program and could not make up the gap in the combined score. The quad jumps performed by the Russians have revolutionized women’s skating. nyti.ms/3GZCUCj

Kaori Sakamoto, 21, of Japan did not attempt a quad jump or a triple axel, the most difficult triple jump, but skated with speed and reliability and finished third, receiving the second-highest artistic scores to Shcherbakova’s in the free skate. nyti.ms/3GZCUCj