By Chang-Ran Kim and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
BEIJING (Reuters) – After a day filled with high drama and heartbreak for one 15-year-old Russian figure skater, China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong brought joy back to the Beijing Games rink with a mesmerizing skate to shatter the world record in the short programme on Friday.
The pairs event is capping the figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics in a departure from tradition – the higher-profile women’s singles usually go last – with host nation China fielding a strong contender for the title in Sui and Han.
Sui and Han, silver medallists at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, broke their own world record in the short programme with a score of 84.41 points, drawing cheers and applause from a sparse but ecstatic home crowd at the Capital Indoor Stadium.
From the moment the pair, who have been partners since they were children, landed their soaring triple toeloops in unison, they captivated the crowd with a near flawless routine. They executed their step sequence and jumps in perfect harmony to a score that included music from ‘Mission Impossible’.
A win by the hometown favourites would provide a welcome relief to local fans and Games hosts China after Russian teen Kamila Valieva’s doping scandal and tearful fall from glory a day earlier left an unpleasant trail in their wake.
Russians took second and third places in the short programmes, also marking their season’s bests. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov scored 84.25, ahead of world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov’s 82.76 points.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber)
