Adelina Sotnikova defends herself amid figure skating controversy — 'My jumps were more complicated'
A day later, people are still talking about the scoring of the figure skating competition at the Sochi Games. Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova topped defending Olympic champion Yuna Kim, the favorite coming into the games. It was, to say the least, a controversial decision.
In the hours since the medals were presented, we've seen outrage and explanations. Some experts — like NBC's Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski — have defended Sotnikova's score. They did so again during Friday night's primetime broadcast in an interview with Bob Costas.
[Related: Figure skating fans outraged over Adelina Sotnikova's gold medal win over Yuna Kim]
On the flipside: Many fans believed something shady happened to favor the host country. Team USA's Ashley Wagner spoke out against anonymous judging after the event ended. Meanwhile, more than 1.7 million people have supported an online petition to investigate the judging.
And Sotnikova herself, the 17-year-old who has become Russia's biggest star in the Sochi Games? Well, she said quite matter of factly Friday that she thought she was the better skater.
From R-Sport:
"I skated very well and my technical score is higher than Yuna's,” Sotnikova said. “My jumps were more complicated, especially in the second part of the cascade, rotations for the fourth level. That means I was better in technique. I skated very well.”
Many opinions about the competition agree with this. Not all, but many. But not everyone is as blunt as Sotnikova was here. No doubt, having a gold medal around your neck and becoming a national hero overnight is a confidence boost.
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