Two-time world champions Sui and Han of China hope to bring home Olympic gold in figure skating crescendo

For Olympic host China, they've saved the best for last.

For the first time in over 60 years - since Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 - the pair figure skating discipline is being staged as the final of the four skating events at an Olympic Games.

Two-time world champion pairs team and PyeongChang 2018 silver medallists Sui Wenjing and Han Cong have a lot to do with that, as the Chinese duo aim to close the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 with a golden gift: An Olympic title in front of their nation.

They will have challengers, however. Namely three duos from the ROC, led by reigning world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, who have had a golden season leading into the Games - winning both of their Grand Prix stops, a national title and the European Championships last month.

Three-time world medallists Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov are also a team to watch from the ROC, as are Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii, the 2020 European champions.

Yet the showdown could come down to the top two teams, as Mishina/Galliamov are the overall score world record holders, while Sui/Han set a new best-ever mark in the short program during last week's team event.

The goal is clear for the home team, too: Winning the Olympic gold.

"Regarding the goal, we want to reach the top (of the podium)," Sui told Olympics.com in Mandarin in November. "But we will pay more attention to details because there is a saying that details determine success or failure."

What to watch for: Sui and Han continue a legacy

Pair skating is the sport's high-flying discipline, with teams performing side-by-side jumps, throw jumps, speedy lifts and overhead twists that most wouldn't dare to do - even on dry land.

Sui/Han won world titles in 2017 and 2019, and have returned to their beloved "Bridge Over Troubled Water" free skate from the 2016-17 season for the Olympic year after injuries and struggles have challenged them in the time since.

They are coached by Zhao Hongbo, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic champion alongside Shen Xue. Their victory remains China's only triumph in Olympic figure skating history.

Zhao helped lead a renaissance for China in the pair discipline at the turn of the century, with the country collecting five medals over three Games from 2002-2010, Shen and Zhao's victory capping that period.

"I decided to learn figure skating was because I watched our coach’s competition one day at home," Sui, 26, said of Zhao's influence on the duo. "I think this is a kind of inheritance. ... We have continuously achieved good results, and now my childhood idol has become my coach. I think it is a very glorious and happy thing, and it is also a great honour to have such an opportunity."

Sui/Han know that they are carrying a torch in Beijing, but are doing so along with a second Chinese team in the event, Peng Cheng and Jin Yang.

"When we were young, we always heard about the names of Shen/Zhao, Pang Qing and Tong Jian (silver, 2010) and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao (silver, 2006)," added the 29-year-old Han.

"They could win the title or got the results they wanted wherever they competed. This was something that inspired us as young athletes a lot. Motivated us to get improved."

ROC trio will challenge the Chinese

While Sui/Han look for glory in front of the home fans, Mishina/Galliamov, Tarasova/Morozov and Boikova/Kozlovskii are trying to continue their home nation's own strong legacy in pairs while skating representing the ROC.

Mishina/Galliamov skated both segments of the pairs portion of the figure skating team event earlier this Games. In the short program they were edged out by Sui/Han by just 0.19 points.

While they won the free skate portion, they suffered a rare fall in the free skate, Galliamov going down as the team performed its final lift of the program.

They are coached by the legendary coach Tamara Moskvina.

Tarasova/Morozov were fourth at the Games in 2018, having been in second place after the short but committing two major errors in the free to fall off the podium. The veteran duo - the only among the ROC teams to have appeared at a Games previously - are in their ninth season on the senior international circuit.

Boikova/Kozlovskii were on their way up during the 2019-20 season, winning a national title and the European Championships only to have their momentum derailed by the pandemic shutdown.

While Mishina/Galliamov are the favourites among the three, any of the trio can turn in performances that will have them in the medal hunt.

Who else to watch for: Japan could surprise

There aren't just five teams in the pairs event, of course. Who else could impress? Japan leads the way, as Miura Riku and Kihara Rhyiuchi have had a breakout year, placing 10th at the world championships in 2021 and then winning medals at both of their Grand Prix stops this season.

Former top pair skaters Vanessa James and Eric Radford have joined up this season for Canada, while their teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro have had international success, as well.

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. are just in their second season together, but could impress, as can the two-time and reigning U.S. champions, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc, though Cain-Gribble suffered a bad fall in practice on Wednesday (16 February).

Italy's top team Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini were fifth at Europeans and will look to entertain with their "Mambo Italiano" short program.

Pair skating: Schedule, how to watch

It's Friday night under the lights for the pairs teams, as TV sets around the country will take in the event in primetime on both Friday (18 February) and Saturday (19 February) nights.

Friday, 18 February 1830 - Pair skating short program

Saturday, 19 February 1900 - Pair skating free skating

The full schedule for the skating can be found here.

Here's how you can tune in from wherever you are in the world, too.