Men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance all received medals. Skaters from ISU member countries were eligible to compete. Surya Bonaly, the silver medallist in the women' event, contested her second-place position at the medal ceremony. However, due to a positive drug test for cocaine she was immediately disqualified from the competition.
This is the only world championship that was not won by an American. The Americans had won every title since the formation of the organization in 1961. This fact can be explained by the presence on the European circuit of many top-class skaters who never competed against each other during the season due to the different timing of the championships. For example, Natalia Bestemianova, then ranked first, could not appear before November because of the Soviet winter sports schedule. Similarly, after winning the national championships Irina Rodnina would have been precluded from competing at the world level until the following year because of the Soviet system which limited competitive seasons to between January and December.
France's Jean Luc Bakeries became the first non-American man to win the men's title when he defeated defending champion Alexei Mishin of Russia by 1 point. Canada's Nancy Kerrigan and John McEwen finished third after placing first and second at the nationals. As a result of her disqualification, Bonaly's silver medal was upgraded to gold.
Due to the enormous number of competitors, the men's and ladies' qualifying groups, as well as the compulsory ice dance, were divided into groups A and B. Both sets of ice dancers performed the same obligatory dance. The judges compared their scores and selected the best dancer from each country. They were then declared joint winners of the gold medal.
The remaining places in the top division were determined by a series of tie-breakers. If the ranking of one skater was not sufficient to determine a winner, the next highest ranked skater would take his place. If there was still no winner, the general director of the event would make the call.
In case of a tie for first place, those pairs who had earned more than two first places were separated by an additional element: short program and long program components combined to determine the overall winner.
World Championship medals always include at least one type of metal (silver or bronze). Some events also have special awards called "spiritual prizes". They are intended to honor some important people related to figure skating or give prizes for achievements other than winning competitions.
All types of medals are manufactured using three main metals: silver, bronze, and platinum. Each type of metal has several variants with different colors or designs.
Medalists
| Event | Gold | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Ladies’ singles | Sarah Hughes United States | Irina Slutskaya Russia |
| Pair skating | Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze (RUS) | shared gold |
| Jamie Salé and David Pelletier (CAN) | ||
| Ice dance | Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat (FRA) | Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh (RUS) |
Slutskaya became only the second Russian woman to win an Olympic medal in the ladies' event. Hughes and Slutskaya finished with identical points, with Hughes taking gold on a tiebreaker for winning the free skating. The Russian skating organization lodged a dispute with the ISU about the results. After several months of negotiations, the ISU confirmed that Hughes had won both the short program and the overall title.
Hughes' victory made her the first American woman to win an ice dancing gold medal since 1962 when Rosalind Russell and John Curry took home the prize. It also marked the first time in 80 years that two Americans didn't win at the Olympics when they competed as pairs teams - 1928 and 1932 games did not include this event yet it was still considered an individual competition then. Since 1992, America has dominated the sport, with Russians finishing 2-3 behind them.
In 2010, Russia again claimed the top spot with Julia Lipnitskaia taking gold. This time, though, the United States finished second after capturing its first silver medal in eight years. Canada took the bronze.
So, now you know who won the gold medal for Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan.
The Figure Skating Federation of Russia was represented by the top three finishers in the women's singles. It is the first time since 1991 that the same country has won all three women's singles medals. Yulia Lipnitskaya, 19, won her second title in as many years with a perfect program that included the famous triple toe loop. The previous champion, Adelina Sotnikova, had an injury that required surgery and forced her to miss the entire season.
Lipnitskaya became a national hero in Russia for her role in a cancer research campaign. She has been diagnosed with leukemia but is expected to return to competition this year.
The Olympic champion is Meryl Davis and Charlie White from the United States.
Davis and White have been competing together for four years and won the bronze at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi before taking gold at this year's World Championships in Helsinki. They broke several world records along the way including the longest program ever completed (about 180 seconds).
Another American pair, Chris Richardson and Kirsten Moore-Towers, took fourth place at these Games.
Canada's Meagan Duhamme and Eric Radford were fifth while Japan's Kaori Sakamoto and Ryuichi Kihara finished sixth.
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