I don't find a so-called more matured and more decorated skater failing to win Olympic Gold heart-breaking at all. I remember Michelle Kwan gave comment on Sochi Men Free event saying Patrick spent so many years "blood, sweat and tears" just for an Olympic moment but lost to Hanyu with 2 falls. Hanyu started skating at four, he also worked for 15 years "blood, sweat and tears" for his Olympic moment.
Similarly, Zagitova won PeyongChang fair and square. If Medvedeva had had won that day, would people had felt sorry for Zagitova because she performed better but didn't win ? Or just because she was a senior just coming out of junior circut then she didn't deserve as much as other skaters who has spent more years in senior? At the end of the day, you don't deserve gold. You earn it.
Michelle Kwan 1998 and Yuna Kim 2014 are different story. I believe both of them should have won Gold.
Agree, while the Olympic gold medal is generally the pinnacle of a skaters career it's just another 2-skate competition like the Autumn Classic, it's not a lifetime achievement award for all the great skates that (insert name) has done for years - it's a about the 2 skates they put down for the Olympics and sometimes I feel like people forget that.