The women's figure skating is split over two events, the short program, which as its name suggests is shorter in duration (2 minutes 40 seconds), and the longer program, four minutes in length, to take place Thursday.

Petrõkina is reigning and two-time European champion, having won the first crown before a home crowd in Tallinn in late January last year, and repeating that feat in Sheffield in England last month.

Between those two events, in fall 2025, however, the 21-year-old had to undergo surgery to repair a long-troubled Achilles tendon, which had initially caused concerns over both defending her title and taking part successfully in her Olympic debut, concerns which she has so far dispelled.

"I don't feel pressure and I don't want to feel it, because pressure usually doesn't help much. I just want to enjoy the moment," Petrõkina told ERR on Saturday.
Her coach Svetlana Varnavskaja said ahead of the short program stage that the goal was to deliver a beautiful skate and to enjoy her first Olympic experience.

"Every next competition is like a new one, with new goals. Everything starts again; we forget who we are. We came here to show what we can do in competition, not what was before," Varnavskaja said.

ERR's live coverage started at 8 p.m. but Petrõkina was not up until after 11 p.m. Estonian time.

On the night, she delivered a very strong short program, just 0.98 points short of her Sheffield score.

"Maybe a little more could have been squeezed out of the technical score. I don't want to speculate, but if the combination wasn't clean, there was a bit more to gain there," said commentator Eva-Lotta Kiibus, a two-time national champion who has now retired from the sport.

"Today the skating and movement weren't completely calm, she didn't fully command the moment on the ice; you could tell the Olympic nerves were there," added former Estonian champion and now coach Liina-Grete Lilender. "But at the same time she handled the situation — we've seen what can happen when a skater doesn't. The second score could have been higher if the skating had been more confident, the glide faster and bolder."

Petrõkina was the second-to-last up in the fourth cohort of skaters and 22nd to take to the rink overall.

She landed a double Axel, a triple Lutz–triple toe loop combination, and a triple flip, which as noted put her in 10th, in a tight field which saw nine competitors break the 70-point mark; the Estonian is just 2.14 points behind the fifth-placed skater at present.

Petrõkina's performance can be re-watched by clicking on the video player above.

Two Japanese competitors sit top, Ami Nakai with 78.71 points and Kaori Sakamoto with 77.23 points, the latter chasing her first Olympic gold at what is set to be her final competition. Reigning world champion Alysa Liu (U.S.) is currently third with 76.59 points, while the Japanese dominance continued with fourth place going to Mone Chiba (74,00 points).

The long program takes place on Thursday evening, again from 8 p.m. Estonian time.

The men's figure skating was last week, and Estonia's Alexandr Selevko finished 16th overall.

Figure skating glossary:

Axel: the sport's oldest and most difficult jump, and the only basic jump in competition with a forward take-off, which makes it the easiest to identify. A double or triple Axel is required in both the short program and the free skating.

Free skate, also known as the long program: A four-minute event. A good free skate must be well-balanced and include various elements described and published by the International Skating Union (ISU).

Lutz: a toe-pick-assisted jump with an entrance from a back outside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot. It is the second-most difficult jump in figure skating (after the quadruple axel). Again, points can be awarded for up to quintuple lutz jumps, though in practice quadruple is about the limit. Many skaters "cheat" the jump because they are not strong enough to maintain the counter-rotational edge, resulting in taking off from the wrong edge. A "cheated" Lutz jump without an outside edge is called a "flutz."

Short program: The first of two segments of competitions (followed by the free skate), with routines lasting two minutes 40 seconds. Vocal music with lyrics is permitted in both the short and long programs.

Toe loop (jump): The simplest jump, accomplished by skating forward on the inside edge of the blade; it can be a single jump, double, or all the way up to quintuple, with greater points scored in each case.

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