Emotions ran high after two Russian Olympic Committee figure skaters placed first and second in the women's individual event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Tears were shed and pointed words were thrown. But after gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova and silver medalist Alexandra Trusova --- both 17 years old --- had a chance to collect their thoughts, they spoke to the media about what they were feeling when the results were announced.
For Shcherbakova, who appeared stunned immediately after her victory and initially had no one to celebrate with, her overwhelming feeling was of disbelief.
In an English interview with NBC, the world champion from 2021 and now Olympic gold medalist said she still can't believe that it's all over.
"Honestly, I didn't realize yet that Olympic Games has already gone. I just know that I skated clean. I'm so happy, but I still didn't realize the result," Shcherbakova said.
When asked about how she deals with pressure and distractions of the Winter Games, she said she had to learn from a lot of past competitions.
"I had a lot of competitions and every competition is a very big experience for me, and after every competition, I know better how to skate clean, how to be focused. So it helped me," Shcherbakova explained, referring to her "clean" mistake-free program and not to teammate Kamila Valieva's doping scandal. "I'm just happy and I'm only happy and didn't realize what happened."
Meanwhile, Trusova spoke to the world media about her emotions as she learned she placed second. She was visibly upset because her history-making five quadruple jumps proved not enough. “I hate this sport,” she shouted at the side of the rink. “I won't go onto the ice again.”
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She was also heard saying, "Everyone has one and I don't," apparently referring to the gold medal. Trusova is the only one of the troika of Russian skaters who has not won a major title despite her impressive quads.
Speaking in Russian, Trusova later told the media that she did what she could.
"I'm not happy with the result. That's why I was angry, I was disappointed," she said. "For the first time, I skated with the five quadruples, and I waited for this moment a long time and it worked out."
Watch the gold and silver performances side-by-side below:
