Figure skating is a traditional ice sport at the Winter Olympics. Figure skating became a major skating event at the Winter Olympics in 1908, and as the popularity and scale of the Winter Olympics grew, figure skating was divided into four current Olympic competitions: men's singles skating, women's singles skating, pairs skating, and ice dancing.
Figure skating is highly artistic and ornamental, especially the men's and women's pairs skating and ice dancing are more ornamental, and the number of spectators in figure skating is the largest of any Olympic Winter Games event.
In the men's and women's pairs skating and ice dance on the field fluttering men and women like two beautiful butterflies in the flowers in the entwined, with beautiful background music, so people enjoy the eye, envy of the field of play on the pair of the gods and goddesses!
The last article I introduced Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo, Pang Qing / Tong Jian, Sui Wenjing / Han Cong three of our country's best figure double skating partner, today I continue to introduce our country's other ice double skating fairy couple partner!
.4 Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao
The most representative figures of Chinese figure skating are the three pairs of good value and strength of the fairy couple, they are Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo, Pang Qing/Tong Jian and Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao, Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo, Pang Qing/Tong Jian and Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao, these six are the famous skating coach Yao Bin's favorite students. The six are the favorite students of the famous skating coach Yao Bin.
As one of the "troika" of Chinese pair skating in the year, Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao combination, before retiring, achieved many wonderful results, they once won the silver medal at the Winter Olympics. In the senior brother, sister Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo, Pang Qing / Tong Jian retired, Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao became the new "leader" of the Chinese skating world.
Zhang Dan was born in 1985 in Harbin, Heilongjiang. Zhang Hao was also born in 1984 in Harbin. Harbin is blessed with a world of ice and snow, so both of them have loved ice skating since they were young.
Since 1998, the two have been practicing pairs skating, and at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, USA, 17-year-old Zhang Hao and 16-year-old Zhang Dan skated for the first time on the Olympic stage. At the Winter Olympics, Yang Yang won the first gold medal for the Chinese Winter Olympics delegation. Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao made their Winter Olympics debut with an 11th place finish.
By 2006, after four years of grueling training and bonding, they had transformed themselves from fledgling newcomers to players with the strength to strike medals and even gold. In that year's Turin Winter Olympics pairs skating final, they were the last pair to go out, and to the soundtrack of "Heir of the Dragon," they came up with their own killer - the ultra-difficult Shakhov four-week throw jump. Unfortunately the maneuver they showed failed. Zhang Dan did not rotate fast enough and lost his balance after three and a half weeks, falling heavily on the ice and injuring his left knee, which forced the game to be interrupted. The tenacious Zhang Dan did not give up the game in the case of failure, and after a short break, they returned to the rink to finish the game and won the silver medal! The Olympic spirit was interpreted with practical actions, which moved the audience from all over the world. The silver medal won by Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao at the Turin Winter Olympics was the best performance by a Chinese figure skater in the history of the Olympic Games at that time, and their tenacity is permanently recorded in the annals of the Winter Olympics in China.
The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics were held in Canada, and Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao went to the Olympics for the third time, having already been runners-up at three World Championships. However, Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao still made a mistake in the competition and ended up fifth. But they also witnessed the winning process of their elder sister and brother - Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo, and together they witnessed the realization of the gold medal dream of the Chinese flower skating team.
After the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Zhang Dan became taller and fatter, and Zhang Hao suffered a serious injury to his hand, and some of the lifts and spins became more and more difficult to perform, so in 2012, Zhang Dan announced her retirement. After her retirement, she entered the Beijing Sports University to study graduate school, and later married and had children, and now runs a snow club.
Zhang Hao, who stayed behind, didn't choose to retire, and remained on the rink.
Peng Cheng became Zhang Hao's new partner in 2012, and Zhang Hao has transitioned into a half-coach on the national team in order to challenge for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Although he and Peng Cheng had less time to train, they quickly adapted to each other, and their rapport continued to improve.
During the partnership with Peng Cheng, they also achieved good results, in 2014, Zhang Hao / Peng Cheng won the China Cup World Figure Skating Grand Prix pairs skating champion .2015 Zhang Hao / Peng Cheng won the four continents figure skating championships pairs skating runner-up.
In May 2014 Zhang Hao married Ju Chi, who has been in love for ten years, in his hometown of Harbin.
In 2016, he replaced Yu Xiaoyu as his partner again, and in 2016, Zhang Hao/Yu Xiaoyu won the pairs skating title at the China Cup Grand Prix of Figure Skating, and Zhang Hao/Yu Xiaoyu won the pairs skating runner-up at the World Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finals in 2016-17, and in November 2017, Zhang Hao/Yu Xiaoyu won the pairs skating runner-up at the World Grand Prix of Figure Skating in the China Cup.
On December 1, 2021, Zhang Hao, a 36-year-old accomplished figure skater, announced his retirement due to injury. Zhang Hao served as a torchbearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Even after his retirement, Zhang Hao has been doing work related to figure skating. He has been working as a specialized teacher at the Beijing University of Physical Education and Sport, teaching his students both practical and theoretical knowledge, and continuing to dedicate himself to China's skating cause.
Although Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao did not come together in life, but their performance on the field is y engraved in the hearts of a generation, Zhang Hao and Zhang Dan partner for 14 years, dedicating their youth to China's figure skating career! It's not too much of a stretch to call them a couple on the rink, is it?
.5 Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu
Unlike the three pairs I introduced in my previous post, Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu are in the ice dance program of figure skating.
The biggest difference between ice dance and men's and women's pairs skating is that there are no jumps such as triple jumps, quadruple jumps, and throw jumps, which are closer to danceability.
Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu were both born in Changchun, Jilin Province in 1994, and Wang Shiyue is more than five months older than Liu Xinyu.
In 2005, the two teenagers, who have loved skating since childhood, came to the Winter Sports Management Center in Jilin Province to learn singles skating. Soon the two stood out among the many teenage players. The coach then asked the 12-year-old Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu to train in pairs skating.
It wasn't long before the coach realized that the two had a good understanding, so he made them regular partners. The pair trained hard and improved quickly, and were a good match for the coaches at the management center.
But in later years, Liu Xinyu, who entered puberty, has been growing, and by the age of 18, he had become a big boy of 1.9 meters, while Wang Shiyue's height was relatively slow, and eventually stayed at 1.63 meters.
From a professional point of view, the 27-centimeter difference between the heights of the two partners is not very suitable. This will make the two people in the dance movement may appear a lot of incongruity.
But Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu have been training together since they were 12 years old, and the two have long had a tacit understanding, agreeing to **** together to work hard and never break up the combination. In the end, the two managed to convince their coach to stay as partners with their outstanding performance.
In December 2014, 20-year-old Wang Shiyue/ Liu Xinyu won the National Figure Skating Championships with a total score of 141.02 points, the first taste of being a champion.
At the 8th Asian Winter Games in Sapporo in 2017, after the Ice Dance Free Dance, the Chinese duo Wang Shiyue/ Liu Xinyu won the title with a total score of 164.28 points. It was also the first international competition title for the two of them.
Since the age of 20, they have grown to be the best ice dancers in Asia. But in recent years our national figure skating is in a downturn, and there is a big gap between our level and that of Russia and other European and American countries.
At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu only got 22nd place in the Ice Dance Promotion Competition.
After the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu were given the opportunity to train in Canada. At the International Skating School in Montreal, they trained and competed with ice dancers from all over the world, and felt first-hand the gaps in their technique and performance. During those training days, the two suffered a lot, but also gained more. In Liu Xinyu's opinion, the biggest change after the two training, is a deeper understanding of ice dance, "each action has a purpose and meaning, need to go with the music and the role of the performance, choreography or pace practice is not a simple splicing of a single action." Wang Shiyue said: "The coach has always emphasized that in order to impress the audience, the performer himself must first like the set of movements, in order to have a greater infectious force, which is the direction of our efforts."
The level of Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu's ice dance has also really improved in these four years. In February 2020 at the Four Continents Skating Championships, they finished fourth; in November 2020 at the China Cup World Grand Prix of Figure Skating; and in October 2021 at the Asian Open Figure Skating Championships.
On the rink, the super high face value and soft physical performance made Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu quickly become the object of attention of netizens. On the ice, they are sometimes passionate; sometimes lingering, like two dancing butterflies, each performance can bring people a strong visual shock. Wang Shiyue is affectionately called "Little Motor" by netizens, and Liu Xinyu is known as "Big Engine"
This pair of "motor-engine" duo can be said to be childhood sweethearts! Although before and after the game Liu Xinyu everywhere considerate Wang Shiyue, but in front of the media they denied having a romance, reply to the cause of the main.
In the past February 12, Beijing Winter Olympics, figure skating ice dance rhythmic dance competition, the Chinese combination - Wang Shiyue / Liu Xinyu two people played well, got 73.41 points, successfully advanced to the February 14 free dance competition!
Let's wish the golden couple, Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu, the best of luck in their next competition!
.6 Peng Cheng/Jin Yang
Peng Cheng was born in 1997 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, and entered the national figure skating team in 2012. He was partnered with Zhang Tianci and Zhang Hao. During his partnership with Zhang Hao, he achieved good results, in 2014, Peng Cheng / Zhang Hao won the China Cup World Figure Skating Grand Prix pairs skating champion. 2015, Peng Cheng / Zhang Hao won the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships pairs skating runner-up.
Jin Yang was born in 1994 in Harbin, Heilongjiang, and before Peng Cheng, his partner was Yu Xiaoyu. During his partnership with Yu Xiaoyu, he also achieved good results. In 2012, Jin Yang/Yu Xiaoyu team won the championship in the pairs figure skating competition at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck.In 2014, Jin Yang/Yu Xiaoyu won the pairs skating championship at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
In 2016, due to a variety of reasons, Peng Cheng and Jin Yang teamed up as a pair, and Zhang Hao and Yu Xiaoyu teamed up as a partner. Although Peng Cheng / Jin Yang partnering late, but the two quickly adapted to each other. Partner for more than a year, in 2017 the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, pair skating competition won the runner-up . 2020, won the four continents figure skating championships pair skating runner-up .
In 2021, Peng Cheng/Jin Yang was named to the Chinese figure skating team's list of athletes competing in the pairs skating program at the Beijing Winter Olympics .
February 7, in the Beijing Winter Olympics figure skating team pairs skating free skating team competition, Chinese players Peng Cheng / Jin Yang, with 131.75 points team competition pairs free skating third, points 8. At the same time, China's total team points also came to the fourth.
Although Peng Cheng/Jin Yang also did not become a partner, but their performance on the skating rink is still wonderful, the road ahead is still long, and it is difficult to say what will happen in the future.
I wish the pair of Peng Cheng/Jin Yang more ideal and good results!
May more new skaters emerge in our country and carry on the legacy of the old-timers, so that the skating program in our country can be brilliant again!
(The next article introduces a couple of foreign figure skating couples, follow me to see more exciting content of the past)