Beijing, China, February 19, 2022: With a nation holding its breath, the Chinese pair of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong produced the performance of their lives to win the pairs figure skating gold medal at the Capital Indoor Stadium on Saturday night.
Skating last after leading the short programme the previous evening, Sui and Han mesmerized the spectators and judges alike with a flawless exhibition of sublime skills and artistry to overtake the three pairs from the Russian Olympic Committee and bag China’s ninth gold of the Winter Olympics.
Sui and Hong, silver medal-winners at PyeongChang four years ago, sealed the deal with a new world record score of 239.88 comprised of 84.41 in the short programme and 155.47 in the free skate. The two scores led the field in both elements.
Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, skating next to last, thought they had done enough to win gold when taking their total to 239.25 – but they finished in the silver medal position, just 0.63 points behind the Chinese pair. They scored 155.0 in their free skate to add to the 84.25 from the short programme.
Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov, the reigning world champions also from the ROC, won the bronze medals with 237.71 (82.76/154.95).
The figure skating competition has provided gripping entertainment, not to say more than its fair share of controversy and debate, since the start of the Winter Olympics with the team event – and it ended on a high with further drama and breathtaking twists and turns.
Sui and Han teamed up in 2007 without having any previous pair skating experience and went on to win the world championships in 2017 and 2019. However, nothing can come close to matching what they achieved in Beijing on Saturday night as they brought the curtain down on a truly memorable Winter Olympics for the home nation.
Skating to Bridge Over Troubled Water, the Chinese pair were fluid and composed as they pulled off a quadruple twist (overhead throw) at the start of the routine. This gave them the confidence and self-belief required to overtake the ROC pair of Tarasova/Morozov and, from this point on, they were fluid and flawless, producing movements and dazzling synchronicity that had the audience gasping in awe.
"The audience and fans have given us great strength," Sui said. "Thanks to our motherland and our team, everyone has contributed a lot for us. I think this medal is the medal of the whole team and won by our joint efforts.
“Thank you to all the volunteers present. They also worked hard for many days and were busy in the venue even during the Chinese New Year. Without any one of them, we can’t stand here and win this medal."
With this ninth gold medal, China moved into third place in the rankings, overtaking the United States and behind only winter sports super powers Norway (15 gold medals) and Germany (11). This is a remarkable turnaround considering they won only one gold medal at PyeongChang 2018, in short track speed skating.
Photo: Olympics.com