Then it would be equally legitimate to say that 20+ other competitors were denied a first gold medal.I just think the whole "denied" something thing is cliche anyway. There are a variety of ways to say someone was beat.
That said, it would actually be reasonable to write the headline "Yu-Na Kim denied a second gold medal" because she was the only ones among the competitors to have one gold medal and to be gunning for OGM No. 2.