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Olympic Exhibition Gala 2018 Highlights, Social Reaction and Recap

Adam Wells

With the actual competition over, some of the top figure skaters took to the ice one more time at the 2018 Winter Olympics for the exhibition gala. 

This was a low-key and informal event with no scoring. All of the skaters were there to give fans in Pyeongchang, South Korea, a final send-off before the next Olympics in 2022.

The event, which aired Saturday night in the U.S., was headlined by the four gold-medal winners in various events: ladies singles champion Alina Zagitova, the Canadian duo of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, and men's singles champion Yuzuru Hanyu. 

Before those performers got on the ice, American bronze medalists Alex and Maia Shibutani put on a show set to "That's Life" from Jay-Z and Frank Sinatra:

Per NBC Chicago, that's the song the Shibutani siblings used when they won the 2017 United States Figure Skating Championships.

Just missing out on that final group of gold medalists was Russian athlete Evgenia Medvedeva, who settled for a silver in the ladies singles because Zagitova put on a historic performance. 

Despite coming up short of her ultimate goal, Medvedeva became one of the biggest breakout stars of this year's Olympics. She put on a routine during the singles competition that would have won gold at any other Games except 2018: 

Zagitova celebrated her Olympic triumph with an exhibition gala performance set to Jazzmeia Horn's "Afro Blue."

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Everyone's favorite skating pair, Virtue and Moir, skated to "Long Time Running" by The Tragically Hip, which was rather fitting considering they've been paired together for more than 20 years. They are also the most decorated Olympic figure skaters in history with five medals, including three golds, dating back to 2010. 

Hanyu put a bow on the individual performances with his showcase set to "Notte Stellata" by Il Volo. He was gliding throughout the song, saving his jumps for the second half, but the Japanese star earned his spot in the exhibition after winning his second straight Olympic singles medal.    

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