figure skating

U.S. Advances in Figure Skating Team Event, But Loses Lead

Team USA now trails the ROC by two points in the team event

The United States has advanced in the figure skating team event, but is no longer leading the pack.

Karen Chen placed fifth with a score of 65.20 in the women's short program on Saturday night, putting the United States in second place with 34 points overall. The top five teams from the field of 10 advanced through to the free skates.

Team USA entered the segment with a two-point cushion for first place, but was overtaken by the Russian Olympic Committee following a dazzling performance by 15-year-old Kamila Valieva.

Valieva's first-place score of 90.18 was over 15 points higher than the second-place score (74.72 by Japan's Wakaba Higuchi) and vaulted the ROC into first with 36 total points.

Japan (29 points), Canada (24) and China (22) points were the other three teams that advanced. Georgia also finished with 22 points but lost out on a tiebreaker to China.

The team event continues with the men's free skate on Saturday at 10:50 p.m. ET. Vincent Zhou will take the ice for the U.S.

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