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

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

After breaking their own world record Sunday, Chinese figure skating pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo have a good chance of becoming China's first medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The veteran couple posted a score of 76.66, beating out the world champions from Germany, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, who weren't far behind at 75.96. Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "In their 2 minutes, 50 seconds of captivating power and effortless beauty, the Chinese set the bar where no pair ever had been." The score beat Shen and Zhao's previous world record, set just a couple of months ago.

Shen, 31, and Zhao, 36, face a tough field in the final, which takes place at 5:00 p.m. PST on February 15 (9 a.m. Beijing time, Feburary 16). The Two other Chinese pairs are still in contention—Pang Qing and Tong Jian finished Sunday in fourth place, and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao came in at fifth. Russians Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov are in third place with a score of 74.16.

Other Chinese athletes competing for medals on February 15 are free cross country skiers Li Hongxue (women) and Xu Wenlong (men), both long shots; and men's speed skaters Yu Fengtong, Zhang Zhongqi, Liu Fangyi and Wang Nan (all men). Yu is China's record holder in the 500 and 1,000 meters, but his best result is a 13th-place finish in the 2005 World Championships.

Related: Shen-Zhao lead pairs figure skating

Tags: 2010 Winter Olympics, figure skating, Shen and Zhao, speed skating, Winter Olympics, world record

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

Tuesday, 9th February 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)

Zhao and Shen on the cover of SI China's 2010 Olympic issue, with the headline
Zhao and Shen on the cover of SI China's 2010 Olympic issue, with the headline "Skating toward Vancouver"
Figure skating pair Shen Xue (申雪） and Zhao Hongbo （赵宏博) bring China its made-for-Hollywood drama in these Olympics—a comeback story, a love story and one last shot at a decades-old dream. The husband-and-wife team has skated together for almost 20 years. They won a bronze medal in their second Olympics, in Salt Lake City. Their hopes to contend for gold in Turin were diminished when Zhao ruptured his Achilles' tendon six months before the games. They fought their way to a repeat bronze, but the struggle tested their relationship, they say. The pair returned to the ice in 2007, and after they won the world championship, Zhao proposed to Shen on the ice. Shortly after, they announced their retirement.

The couple who, like many of China's winter Olympians, grew up in Harbin, came out of retirement last May. They proceeded to win three Grand Prix titles in the past year.

In a recent Reuters story, Shen says, "This is not our best chance. It is just our last chance, a last chance at the Olympics."

Olympic experience

Nagano, 1998: Fifth place
Salt Lake City 2002: bronze
Turin 2006: bronze

Other international experience: World champions in 2002, 2003, 2007

When to watch them compete: 4:30 p.m. EST (5:30 a.m. Beijing time), Sunday February 14--Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year and Day 1 of the pairs figure skating competition

Reuters: Last chance for Chinese figure skating pair
NBCOlympics.com: Figure skating schedule and results

Tags: China's 2010 winter Olympians, figure skating, Shen and Zhao, winter Olympics