Kim Yu-Na can become just the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic figure skating titles on Thursday when she takes a slender lead into the decisive free skate in Sochi.
The 23-year-old South Korean superstar opened up a fractional 0.28 lead on Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova in Wednesday's short programme as she attempts to join fellow double winners, Norway's Sonje Henie and Germany's Katarina Witt in the record books.
Fifteen-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia, carrying the burden of Russian hopes after the quarter-final exit of the country's vaunted ice hockey team, found the pressure too much and is down in fifth place after falling.
However, 17-year-old national champion Sotnikova lifted home hopes with a rousing skate to "Carmen" which brought the 17,000-capacity crowd at Iceberg Skating Palace to their feet.