The queen of figure skating has bowed down, and there's a new ice princess in town.
Russian skater Adelina Sotnikova unleashed a rush of raw emotions after winning gold in women's figure skating on Thursday. Tears of joy paired with pure happiness made her moment in the Olympics spotlight a delight to watch.
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This was the first Olympics for 17-year-old Sotnikova, who was overshadowed by teammate Yulia Lipnitskaya, 15, in the team competition. Despite beating Lipnitskaya at the 2013 Russian Nationals, Sotnikova was clearly "the other skater" of the two Olympians, in terms of media attention.
During the ladies' short program on Wednesday, Sotnikova surprised everyone by reminding the crowd of her talent, scoring 74.64 — less than a point away from the heavily favored Yuna Kim of South Korea. Then, on Thursday, she brought the house down with a score of 149.95. Lipnitskaya placed fifth overall, receiving several deductions on both days for falls.
As soon as Kim, the final competitor, was revealed to place second, Sotnikova held back tears and sprinted backstage to hug her coaches and supporters.

Image: Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

Image: Darron Cummings/Associated Press