Kamila Valieva's "Otherworldly" Figure Skating Short Program Set Another Record

Kamila Valieva, the Russian national champion and favourite for the Beijing Olympic podium, scored a world-record-setting 90.45 for her 2022 ISU European Figure Skating Championships short program. In fact, the 15-year-old bested her own short program record of 87.42, which she'd previously set back in November at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup. This also means that Valieva is the first woman to break 90 points under the current scoring system, according to NBC Sports.

Valieva's short program, seen in full above, was spectacular then, and it's spectacular now. Set to Kirill Richter's "In Memoriam," it's reportedly dedicated to her late grandmother. Valieva effortlessly glides along the ice with choreography that's polish, poised, and powerful. Speaking of powerful, she executes her jumps — such as the triple axel, triple flip, and triple lutz and triple toe loop combo — with precision, lifting her arms above her head to make them that much more difficult.

As NBC's Terry Gannon said in the live broadcast on Jan. 13, "Perfection may not exist, but it's approached every time Kamila Valieva takes the ice." Olympian and fellow commentator Tara Lipinski called Valieva "otherworldly," and we 100 percent agree!