New Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova "proud" to be among sport's elite

Anna Shcherbakova has been an Olympic figure skating champion for a matter of days. But that's not stopping her from asking the sport's elite for a selfie when she saw them in passing during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

"Nathan Chen, Yuzuru Hanyu, Jin Boyang, Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron... " Shcherbakova responds when asked who she's snapped a photo with recently.

"I can continue for so long... I still take pictures with them; I wish them good luck before the competition or say that I admire the performances."

The difference now? Shcherbakova is an Olympic champion herself - but says she's proud to still tell those she's looked up to that they've inspired her to become the skater that she is.

"I still admire so many athletes, but I'm probably getting used to it a little bit," the 17-year-old admitted in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com. "But of course, I feel kind of proud to be around them, that more than that. I can tell them how I feel, how I admire someone. This is also very important for me and that makes me proud."

Shcherbakova's list continues: Uno Shoma, Kagiyama Yuma, American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates.

Once a skater who had "looked at everyone with eyes wide open", she is now an Olympic champion that others look up to - as evidenced by her phone "exploding" after her triumph in the women single event on Thursday (17 February).

One of those reaching out to her: 2018 Olympic champion Alina Zagitova, who sent her a congratulatory message - with hopes of the two getting to see one another in the not-too-distant future.

"I haven't seen her yet, but she texted me, 'Congratulations.' But she also supported me before the competitions, so [the two of us] are good friends."

W