Russian figure skaters dominate women's short program at Pyeongchang Olympics

PYEONGCHANG - The short program of women's figure skating on Wednesday is all about the Olympic athletes of Russia, who shine over the Gangneung Ice Arena and wrapped top two places.

The rising star Alina Zagitova, 15, edged two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedva to top the ranking with 82.92 points. Medvedva scored 81.61 points, followed by Canadian Kaetlyn Osmond with 78.87 points.

WHY THE RUSSIAN BOOM?

"They are just growing like mushrooms," said coach Elena Vodorezova about the constant flow of successful Russian female skaters.

Vodorezova is the coach of Sochi Games champion Adelina Sotnikova and coaches Grand Prix final silver medallist Maria Sotskova, who finished 12th after short program.

Why are the girls are so strong and are there so many? For the experienced coach, skating mentality plays an important role.

"I think the biggest difference to other countries is that the children and their parents come to the ice rink with the goal to achieve something in the sport -- in the west, they go to the ice rink to have fun," she said.

"Also, in other countries, practice has to adjust to school hours. It is the opposite way for us or the children have private lessons."

Figure skating has been a popular sport in Russia for years, but it became even more popular through TV reality-competition shows such as "IceAge". That, along with improved conditions and the growing success of the current crop of skaters has resulted in more and more children, mostly girls, flocking to the ice rinks.

"If we look back, about 10 years ago in Moscow about 20 ice rinks were built in different parts of the city, this obviously led to a steady flow of children," said Eteri Tutberidze, who coaches Medvedeva and Zagitova.

Alexander Lakernik, Russian vice-president of the International Skating Union and technical delegate for figure skating at Pyeongchang Games, attributed the skater boom to good coaches.

"At one point, a lot of little girls with all triple jumps appeared. With the right technique, they keep their jumps, even when they grow. The girls are taught in the right way, especially in the group of Tutberidze," he said.