Russians are nearly flawless in taking the early pairs lead
From the opening minutes of Saturday's Olympic pairs figure skating competition, two things became clear: Spectators needed to allow extra time to get through the security checks, and the judges weren't giving away any free points.

About Figure skating:    Schedule/results    Figure skating photos

Figure skating was Games' first winter sport Skating's roots may stretch back as far as the Middle Ages, where drawings depict ancient gods wearing huge "skis" with runners. In 1850, E.W. Bushnell introduced the first steel-bladed skates, which revolutionized the sport by making possible more intricate twists and turns.

Up close: Figure skating It's the most popular sport of the Winter Olympics. The grace and artistry of Olympic skating is never difficult to express.

Skating is a real sport Sigh. Yes, Virginia, figure skating is a sport. I know, I know. There are sequins on the costumes, short skirts on the ladies and more routines choreographed to movie themes than you can three-turn or twizzle to.

Olympic highlights

Utah connections

Figure skating medalists in Nagano