Adelina Sotnikova has said that she is overjoyed with her triumph at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The 17-year-old Russian won the gold medal in the women's figure skating event with a score of 224.59 points on Thursday.
"I smashed my season's best," the Japan Times quotes the teenager as saying. "In fact, I smashed my highest score for my whole career and I did it at the Olympics. I didn't think I could skate like I did today.
"I found something totally different in myself today. I had a bit of nerves before I skated but just before I started I was completely calm. I just felt how much I love to skate. I think I found a new me.
"The atmosphere was wonderful. I felt something amazing coming from the crowd. I could hear shouts and screams the whole time of 'keep going Adelina', and 'you can do it'. I just couldn't skate badly."
Kim Yuna of South Korea finished second, while Italy's Carolina Kostner won the bronze medal.
