After Figure Skating Short Program, Russian Women Lead

Alina Zagitova of Russia. Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesAlina Zagitova of Russia, just 15, edged out her countrywoman, the comparably ancient Evgenia Medvedea, 18, in the women’s short program, setting up a potential epic battle in the free skate.

Zagitova defeated the previously unbeatable Medvedeva at the European Championships earlier in the year, and did it again with superior technical scores thanks to a triple lutz-triple loop combination and a triple flip.

Zagitova’s combo by itself scored 13.71 points, outranking Medvedeva’s triple flip-triple toeloop, which got 11.96.

But the judges showed a slight preference for Medvedeva in all five of the more subjective categories like…