There was plenty of opportunity for the placements to change, and they did within the Free Skate results, but overall the Ladies’ podium ended up the same as the short program placements.

Evgenia Medvedeva (RUS) placed second in the free program, but won the gold medal in her Grand Prix debut. Her  "W.E." soundtrack program had seven clean triples.

The World Junior Champion fell on the 2A+2T+2T combination, but had the foresight to tack the two missed double toe loops on the end of the Salchow combination and final double Axel to avoid losing the points for the two double toe loops.

"A fall can happen to anyone but you have to go on and continue," she said. "You have to give 100 percent and you also learn from that. Nobody is perfect. Everyone is trying to reach new heights and tries to skate clean.

Medvedeva explained her ‘thinking on her feet’ for the two toe loops. “You always have to think of what you have to do in case something goes wrong. You have to be thinking a step ahead. My coaches and I, we are discussing this in case something doesn’t work. This happens many times, and then you have to change. I know what to do, and I do it.”

The young Russian also commented on increasing the difficulty of her jump repertoire.  "There is a saying that there is no limit to perfection," she said. "Of course I think we will have to learn harder jumps. I haven’t tried it but I will work on it. When I’m capable of doing it, I will go out and do it. I’m not thinking about triple Axel, as you can see from today, that’s not my best jump [the Axel]. I’m planning on going for the quad Salchow.

Gracie Gold won the free program with a personal best 137.41 score, but placed second overall. The powerful Igor Stravinski "Firebird" program had six clean triples and level 4 spins and footwork.  The 2015 U.S. silver medalist explained how she doubled the planned final triple Salchow.

“On the last jumping pass, I just didn’t commit enough to really get in and try to save it. I just need to start putting out solid performances and building on them so no matter what the takeoff is, I’ll feel confident enough to land it.”

Assessing her performance she said, "I’m happy with how the competition went. I had a really good short program and a very solid long program, which has been harder for me in the past to put two together. One usually burns really bright and then one might fizzle out. So we’ve been working really hard all summer on putting two programs together and I want to continue doing that all season."

Remarking on the audience reaction to her performance she said, " The crowd was really supportive all week no matter what I did. It feels good to know that they felt the program and what I want to deliver every time is that emotion and get that feeling in the rink."

Gold spoke at length about how a brief loss of focus can lead to an error later in a program as in her Salchow.  Commenting on the pressure of performing for a skater she said, " The begging and the end are the hardest parts of the program.  At the end of the program you have to be the strongest and at the beginning you have to be the bravest."

On a personal note, Gold was asked about her braided hairdo. The fan favorite revealed that she herself had done the styling and while the work looked cumbersome, it has become much easier to do.

Satoko Miyahara (JPN) was third in the free skate and third overall with five clean triple jumps. The 2015 World silver medalist scored a season best 122.95 for her performance to "Un Sospiro" by Franz List.

At the post competition press conference, the diminutive Japanese champion responded to a question about ladies adding the triple Axel to their routines.

“I’m working on the triple Axel, and I think it will be necessary in the future. But in the current situation, it’s not the element I will put in yet. I want to do other things first.  I will hope to do it in the future.”

 Miyahara was reserved at both press conferences and gave the impression of being disappointed with her performances.  On her free skate she remarked, "Today was not my best. I’m a little bit regretful but it was a good experience and I learned a lot of things. I want to do my best at my next event, NHK Trophy."

Karen Chen, U.S. bronze medalist, finished in fifth place, placing sixth in the long after a fourth place finish in the short. The young Californian commented on the experience gained at her first Grand Prix.

“I learned about dealing with the nerves and knowing how that feels after the competition, how the atmosphere was on the ice. I will now be able to imagine that at practice, and it will help me perform better next time."

Chen fell on two jumps, the second of which was an under-rotated Lutz that was also repeated as a solo jump and not in combination.  It was a costly error that dropped her one place in the overall result."

Regarding the falls she said, "I felt like I had the right mindset going into it. I felt prepared, I felt ready to do it. I guess a little loss of concentration got the best of me. I wanted the podium and I had that goal coming here. I knew with a decent short I felt like it was possible and I just needed to go after everything. I felt like I did that. I just couldn’t pull everything together."

Maria Bell, the third U.S. competitor, placed eighth. The skater, who trains in Colorado alongside Jason Brown, noted the experience she gained in her Grand Prix debut.

“Getting a triple-triple done at my first Grand Prix in the short was huge. And just being able to put out two respectable programs I think is huge also. This is the first time this season that I’ve felt in the moment, and to do it on such a big scale and big stage just gives me more confidence. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”

Bell moved up from eleventh in the short to eighth in the long and eighth overall.  She fell on triple toe loop in her opening jump combinations.  But fought back.

On her reaction to the fall she said, "I’ve been working on that in practice, working through a tough fall at the beginning and getting the rest of the program done. I was proud of myself for getting that done here. It’s the first time this season that I was really in the moment and no matter what the outcome, I’m really proud of myself. This was a huge step and I’m excited to get back home and get ready for nationals."

Julia Lipnitskaia the Russian pre-Sochi Olympic darling did not have a good competition. She struggled again with her jumps and finished seventh in the long and sixth overall.  She trains with the gold medalist, Eugenia Medvededa in Moscow.