Kwan and Co. Will Take Center Stage

The marquee event of the Winter Olympics, women’s singles figure skating, begins with the short program, which counts for one-third of the total score in the medal race. The event ends with the long program Thursday night, also called the free skate, and that accounts for the other two-thirds of the scoring.

The gold medal will almost certainly be won by one of three U.S. skaters, Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes, or one of two Russians, Irina Slutskaya and Maria Butyrskaya.