Yu-Na Kim, Joannie Rochette shine in women's figure skating

South Korea's Yu-Na Kim skated into Olympic history with a record-breaking gold medal win in Vancouver on Thursday night, while Canadian skater Joannie Rochette skated into a special place in the story of Olympic spirit, winning the bronze.

Kim skated early, and left no doubt that she deserved the nickname of "Queen." Her jumps were spot on, but the routine was so much more than jumps. It was a complete package of perfectly executed spins, footwork, spirals and jumps.

"This is the best routine I've ever seen in an Olympic competition," said NBC commentator Sandra Bezic. After she finished her routine, Kim broke down in tears, overwhelmed by the moment. Her long program score of 150.06 broke her own scoring record.

The inspirational story of the Olympics, Canadian Joannie Rochette, skated another graceful, elegant routine. Just four days after her mother's death, Rochette hit every part of her skate, starting off aggressively with a triple Lutz/double toeloop/double loop combination. From there, she skated well, save a small step on one jump. Her free skate score of 131.28 earned her a bronze medal.

After the skate, Rochette let out a deep sigh, and teary-eyed, blew a kiss to her father. During the medal ceremoy, she smiled through tears.

Winning silver, Japan's Mao Asada made a mark of her own, landing three triple Axels. In doing that, she became the first woman to ever land three triple Axels in the Olympics. But she made a few small errors in her routine, keeping her from knocking off the near unstoppable Kim.

American Mirai Nagasu took fourth, moving up from the sixth place that she earned in the short program. She was in a tough position, the last skater of the evening. But she did not back down, hitting every jump, winning the crowd over with contortionist-like spins, and earning high marks on execution. Though she did not win a medal, she seemed pleased.

Fellow American Rachael Flatt skated the best routine of her season, landing every jump and skating with an energy and maturity beyond her 17 years. Unfortunately, two of her triple jumps were downgraded to doubles, hurting her overall score.