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Double double: Figure skating pairs bag China's first two medals

Tuesday, 16th February 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Shen and Zhao
Shen and Zhao
With three Chinese pairs still in the medal hunt today, it looked very likely that China's first medal of the 2010 Winter Olympics would come in figure skating. Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo (申雪／赵宏博) and Tong Jian/Pang Qing (佟建／庞清) were the last two pairs to skate in Monday night's free skate, and the only of the medal contenders that completed a fall-free program (final standings on Vancouver2010.com.

Shen/Zhao snagged the gold that has eluded them in their previous three bronze medal performances, with a score of 216.57. Taking silver were Tong/Pang, with 213.31 overall. German world champions got the bronze, at 210.6.

The third Chinese pair, Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, ended up in fifth place. The day's results no doubt indicate that China has a strong figure skating program, but most of the media attention focuses on Shen and Zhao--married, retired, unretired, and now Olympic champions. In his report on the couple, The Wall Street Journal's Ian Johnson quotes Zhao as saying, "When I hold her in my arms, I don't have to pretend to love her. I do."


Links:
Chinese Skating Pair Breaks the Mold

Related:
China's 2010 Winter Olympians: Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, pairs figure skating

Figure skating: Shen and Zhao on top heading into pairs final

Shen/Zhao image: Xinmin.cn

Tags: figure skating, Shen and Xue, Winter Olympics