It's almost time for Kaetlyn Osmond's final performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics and she's in podium position.
With the time change from Pyeongchang, South Korea, Osmond will strike her opening pose in Thursday night's Olympic long program skate at 1:10 a.m. Newfoundland time, according to a post on her Facebook page.
She's skating 23rd out of 24 skaters after finishing third in the short program on Tuesday night with a season's-best score of 78.87 points.
Osmond achieved a season's-best score of 78.87 points in the short program on Tuesday night. (Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images)
Russian skater Evgenia Medvedeva is in second and her teammate, 15-year-old Alina Zagitova, is in first.
Zagitova earned 82.92 points with her skate on Tuesday, setting a new world record. Medvedeva temporarily held the same record with her own short program, which earned a score of 81.61.
Up late for the big skate
Fans in Marystown are once again ready to stay up late to watch their hometown hero skate on the Olympic ice.
Reagan Strang can't wait to see Kaetlyn Osmond perform. (CBC)
A viewing party is happening at 11 p.m. at the Kaetlyn Osmond Arena, and 12-year-old figure skater Reagan Strang hopes her mother will let her stay up to watch the event.
"I just had a big science unit test today actually and I studied really hard for that so I hope she'll pay me back and I'll be able to watch it," said Strang.
"It's really cool because someone from this community, it's kind of a small town, just to see someone skating at such a big event is really cool."
To celebrate Kaetlyn Osmond's skate in the Olympics the Ice Crystal Skating Club is holding a special event Thursday evening. (Jeremy Eaton/CBC)
Osmond will return to Marystown to skate at the Ice Crystals annual skating event on April 14.
If she wins, it will be her third career Olympic medal.
By Pj Kwong, CBC Sports
If there was ever a time to skate your Olympic best in the free skate, today would have been the day.
The top three women standing on the podium demonstrated that if you want an Olympic medal, you are going to have to earn it.
Kaetlyn Osmond needed to put aside all doubt and present her Black Swan program in a way that has eluded her all season. Apart from one small landing error with a step out on a triple Lutz jump, Osmond's program was the program of the event.
I say that because Osmond's material was nuanced and rich with detail. It is the best example of a truly 'balanced' routine with jumps sprinkled throughout and not just after the halfway point, which rewards the skater with a 10 percent bonus.
This was the program that we all had been looking for from Osmond. It's not an exaggeration to say that she had been having trouble competing successfully this season with this beautiful program. As a result, there were no guarantees as Osmond took her opening pose. Today was a great day for Kaetlyn, who improved on her season's best score by 10 points.
Osmond's speed and technical prowess are the product of great coaching from Ravi Walia. The interpretation of the Black Swan is from Jeffrey Buttle whose choreography and attention to detail were a great fit for Osmond. There was no doubt about the narrative in this free skate. It was beautifully put together and executed — a wonderful exercise in collaboration. The end result was seeing Osmond on the podium in third place.
Medvedeva good, Zagitova great
Evgenia Medvedeva was also spot on in her free skate to Anna Karenina. My issue would have been that there was nothing that jumped out at me in terms of the connection between the choreography and the music. There was nothing at all wrong with Medvedeva's skate, but there just wasn't the magic either to which I have grown accustomed. The fact that Medvedeva was able to be here at all given the accelerated recovery that was required after breaking her foot late in 2017, is the real magic in this story.
Olympic champion Alina Zagitova is a marvel. Although none of us might like the back-loading of the jumps to the second half of the program, I think we can all agree that this 15-year-old is pretty special. Top to bottom Zagitova oozed every inch the prima ballerina performing to Leon Minkus' Don Quixote. From the costume to the way in which Zagitova expressed herself with the music, I thought it was a terrific interpretation and I was not alone.
Figuring out what you know how to do best and sticking with that plan encourages success. Both Russian women train together which must help in keeping the intensity in preparation for competition. When you layer all the strategy, the speed, the clean jumps and other elements, you come out as Zagitova did and end up with a gold medal around your neck.
GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of — Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond has won a bronze medal in women’s figure skating at the Winter Olympics.
The reigning world silver medallist from Marystown, N.L., skating to music from "Black Swan," scored 152.15 in her long program for a combined score of 231.02.
She was also third after the short program.
Osmond’s medal is historic as it boosts Canada’s total in Pyeongchang to 27, an all-time high for the country at the Winter Games.
Russia’s Alina Zagitova, just 15 years old, scored a combined 239.57 to capture gold. Teammate and reigning world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia won silver with 238.26 points.
Osmond, 22, who almost quit skating after breaking her leg in a training accident in 2014, nailed her long program, landing seven triples jumps. Her only mishap was a slight bobble on a triple Lutz.
Canada hadn’t won an Olympic medal in women’s singles since Joannie Rochette claimed bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games just days after her mom died of a heart attack.
It was a disastrous day for Gabrielle Daleman, who was seventh after the short program. The 20-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., fell three times — on her opening triple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, her triple Lutz, and triple flip.
Daleman, who won bronze at last year’s world championships, was deducted 4.00 points for the falls
Osmond and Daleman will be looked to as leaders of Canadian team that will have to rebuild after these Olympics. Among those retiring are ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won double gold in Pyeongchang, three-time world champion Patrick Chan, and two-time world pairs champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, who captured bronze.
Osmond and Daleman, along with the retiring veterans, claimed gold in the team event to open these Games.
