Home hopes Sui Wenjing and Han Cong set new world record to lead after pair skating short program

Four years later, it's deja vu after the pairs short program at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong set a new world record score of 84.41 to wow the home crowd inside the Capital Indoor Stadium on Friday night (18 February) and place first, while the ROC's Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov sit second, just 0.16 points back.

The same two teams sat in first and second place following the short at PyeongChang 2018, as well.

But both duos would like to up their final result from four years ago. The Chinese hope to capture an Olympic gold to close their home Games while Tarasova/Morozov would like redemption from a fourth-place finish in South Korea.

"I think today we enjoyed it and we are happy," Sui said after the short program, speaking in her native Mandarin. "I hope we can perform our best tomorrow (19 February). The short program is just the beginning."

Both teams beat the 82.83 world record score that Sui/Han had scored in the figure skating team event to open the Games on 4 February.

Reigning world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov will have to play catch-up as the ROC duo is in third place with a 82.76.

China and the ROC make up the top five: Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii, the 2020 European champions, are fourth with a score of 78.59, while the No.2 Chinese team of Peng Cheng and Jin Yang are fifth with a 76.10.

Americans Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier scored a 74.23 to place sixth, one tenth ahead of teammates Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc at 74.13.

See the full results from the short program here.

Pair skating is being staged as the final of the four disciplines at an Olympic Games for the first time in over 60 years - since the 1956 Winter Games. The move was made to highlight the two-time world champions Sui/Han, who will try and add to China's tally of eight golds this Games.

Sui/Han lead after competitive short program

There was top-level skating throughout the evening with eight teams going above the 70-point mark. While it is Sui/Han who set a new short program world record for pairs on Friday, Mishina/Galliamov have the overall world record, set at Europeans just last month (239.82).

Mishina/Galliamov are also the reigning world champions, and will look to use their technical prowess and high level of skills to climb back into the fight for gold.

Right now that battle belongs to the top two teams - repeating from 2018. It's something Sui said she and Han are "proud of" - and that they have been driven by Tarasova/Morozov for a decade on the international circuit.

The stage is different for the Chinese, however, as they go for gold in front of the home crowd.

"Each competition is different, but this time the Olympics are held in Beijing and it's extremely difficult for us because it's held in our home country," she said. "It empowers us to perform better. We are very proud of our level. We have maintained this level of competition between the two [teams over the years]. We are improving because of each other and tomorrow we will be showcasing a program of high difficulty."

That high difficulty, Sui confirmed, will include a planned quadruple twist, a rarity in the pairs discipline.

Said Morozov of their second-place effort: "I think we just felt relief that we finished the short program. We skated well, and we are happy with our performance," he said. "We delivered, and we are happy with how we skated."

All three of the top teams showcased near flawless skating on Friday, performing a triple twist, throw triples (a loop for Tarasova/Morozov and a flip for the other two) and side-by-side toe-loops for the top two teams, with Mishina/Galliamov trying a side-by-side Salchow.

Boikova/Kozlovskii made the only noticeable error of the top four, Boikova putting her hand down to save the duo's throw triple flip, costing them points on the board.

The other Chinese team, Peng/Jin, skated in the group before Sui/Han, and also received rounding applause from the home fans for their Beethoven-into-Alicia Keys mash-up. Sui/Han's Mission Impossible 2 program was skated with a sort of zest that had both athletes celebrating upon finish, the energy palpable in an arena that has been mostly empty due to Covid measures these Games.

Short program results; free skate schedule

Japan's Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, the breakout team of the season, were eighth with a 70.85, Miura doubling their side-by-side triple toe-loops.

The top 16 teams out of the 18 competing in the short program have advanced to the free skate. LeDuc, the American, was making history as the first out non-binary athlete to compete at a Winter Games.

"Today was a really joyous moment on the ice," LeDuc said. "We lead with authenticity and lead with what makes us unique and different. And that's hopefully the message that when people watch us, hopefully they feel the same. ... And hopefully we're making a path for others to not have to change things about themselves in order to find more success in skating or in other things that they pursue."

The pairs free skate is set for Saturday, 19 February. Here's the full schedule.

19 February 1900 - Pair Skating - Free Skating

Short program standings:

1 CHN SUI Wenjing / HAN Cong 84.41 Q
2 ROC TARASOVA Evgenia / MOROZOV Vladimir 84.25 Q
3 ROC MISHINA Anastasia / GALLIAMOV Aleksandr 82.76 Q
4 ROC BOIKOVA Aleksandra / KOZLOVSKII Dmitrii 78.59 Q
5 CHN PENG Cheng / JIN Yang 76.10 Q
6 USA KNIERIM Alexa / FRAZIER Brandon 74.23 Q

7 USA CAIN-GRIBBLE Ashley / LEDUC Timothy 74.13 Q
8 JPN MIURA Riku / KIHARA Ryuichi 70.85 Q
9 GEO SAFINA Karina / BERULAVA Luka 66.11 Q
10 ITA DELLA MONICA Nicole / GUARISE Matteo 63.58 Q
11 ESP BARQUERO Laura / ZANDRON Marco 63.34 Q
12 CAN JAMES Vanessa / RADFORD Eric 63.03 Q

13 CAN MOORE-TOWERS Kirsten / MARINARO Michael 62.51 Q
14 GER HASE Minerva Fabienne / SEEGERT Nolan 62.37 Q
15 ISR KOPS Hailey / KRASNOPOLSKI Evgeni55.99 Q  
16 ITA GHILARDI Rebecca / AMBROSINI Filippo 55.83 Q

Did not qualify for free skate:
17 CZE ZUKOVA Jelizaveta / BIDAR Martin 54.64
18 AUT ZIEGLER Miriam / KIEFER Severin 51.96