New winners were crowned in ice dance and pairs, but the real story of the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul, Minn. on Saturday was the exploits of Gracie Gold, who went home from the competition with her second free skate title.
The victory for Gold didn't come without issues though. Gold trailed Polina Edmunds by 7.69 points ahead of the long program on Saturday thanks to a poor short program, but Gold landed seven triple jumps and put together an artistically pleasing rendition of her "Firebird" routine, according to the Associated Press.
Gold finished with 210.46 points. Edmunds, just 17, had 207.51.
"It was almost better going in that way knowing I couldn't miss anything," Gold said, per the AP. "I needed every single point. Every ounce of firebird I had needed to be left out there.
"And I did it."
Three-time U.S. champion Ashley Wagner closed a strong, if unspectacular, program by failing to complete a triple lutz and finished well behind Gold and Edmunds, per the Minnesota Star-Tribune.
Maia and Alex Shibutani and Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea each went home from St. Paul with titles in ice dance and pairs, respectively.
