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<\/a><\/p>\n0.43.<\/p>\n
That was the exact margin that separated Olympic champions Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, of Germany, from silver medalists Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China at the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. A mistake on the side-by-side triple salchow cost the Chinese team the gold medal. Disappointed, Sui and Han set their sights on striking gold in 2022 in their home country.<\/p>\n
After the pairs\u2019 short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where Sui and Han broke their own world record for a pairs\u2019 short program score (84.41), it was just 0.16 points that set them apart from Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, three-time World medalists from the Russian Olympic Committee. Hungry to earn the gold medal at their home Olympics, Sui and Han delivered an emotional \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water\u201d free skate that included a quadruple twist that was given a plus 2.82 for the grade of execution and earned a total of 10.42 points. However, the element that eluded them in PyeongChang and cost them the gold in 2018 haunted them again, as Sui\u2019s side-by-side triple salchow was downgraded. With only a miniscule lead after the short program, it was going to be close for the gold, but Sui and Han found themselves on the other side this time, winning the gold by a little more than half of a point. (0.63). They earned a free skate score of 155.47, which was just shy of their personal best of 155.60, and a personal best total score of 239.88, a new world record.<\/p>\n Sui and Han became the first Chinese pair team to win a gold medal since their coach Hongbo Zhao and his partner and wife, Xue Shen, won the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so happy that I feel that my dream has come true,\u201d Sui said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an unforgettable night. We realized our dreams in our homeland,\u201d Han added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working for years to get this medal, so just to get it, means a lot to us,\u201d Morozov said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we stood in the final pose of the program, and you understood that you did well and that you skated clean, at that moment, you have an explosion of emotions,\u201d Tarasova said of her reaction after the free skate. \u201cIt is happiness that everything worked at the right moment. You cannot hold them in.\u201d<\/p>\n After the free skate, Morozov did respond to the tight margin that separated the two teams.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the judges\u2019 score and it\u2019s really a small difference, but we did everything that we can do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Reigning World Champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, who were also in contention to win the gold medal in Beijing, took home the bronze medal in their first Olympic appearance.<\/p>\n Their \u201cThe Snowstorm\u201d and \u201cTime, Forward\u201d free skate was highlighted by a side-by-side triple salchow-euler-triple salchow combination and side-by-side triple toe, plus throw triple flip and loop jump. They earned all positive GOEs on their elements to earn a free skate score of 154.95 and a total score of 237.71.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very proud of it. We did all our elements well,\u201d Galliamov said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very happy that we managed to skate well and show what we can do at this Olympics,\u201d Mishina added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will keep working,\u201d she continued. \u201cThird place gives us motivation to work harder.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are quite disappointed,\u201d Kozlovskii said of the team\u2019s free skate. \u201cWe made every effort to prepare ourselves for the Olympic Games. The result is not as (we) expected.\u201d<\/p>\n Two-time Four Continents medalists Cheng Peng and Yang Jin, who finished in 17th place at the PyeongChang Olympics, were looking to have an Olympic moment on their home ice in Beijing. In their \u201cThe Banquet\u201d soundtrack free skate, Peng and Jin opened with their side-by-side jumps, in which Peng doubled the planned triple salchow. The rest of the program was strong and the team earned a free skate score of 138.74 and a total score of 214.84 points to finish in fifth place.<\/p>\n \u201cToday we performed our best,\u201d Peng said. \u201cWe enjoyed every moment and every move we made on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe skated our best,\u201d Jin added. \u201cWe skated our best and almost had no errors, so we are satisfied with our performance today.\u201d<\/p>\n For Team USA, they may not be leaving Beijing with medals in the pairs\u2019 event, but they accomplished a feat that hasn\u2019t been done in 24 years. The two teams finished in 6th and 8th place, the first time the U.S. has had two pairs in the top 10 since 1998.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a true dream come true \u2014 it was our true selves out there \u2014 we didn\u2019t let our nerves get the best of us,\u201d Frazier said following his free skate. \u201cWe made one technical error on the jump on my part, everything else we did was solid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have so much appreciation for the whole team and my family taking a shot on me,\u201d Frazier said. \u201cI am forever in their debt for all their hard work. We weren\u2019t even sure we would try out and now we are here at the Olympic Games.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>After finishing off the podium at the 2018 Olympics, Tarasova and Morozov were determined to get on the podium this time in Beijing. With such a close margin after the short program, Tarasova and Morozov had to deliver a near-perfect free skate to claim the gold medal. In their \u201cLighthouse\u201d free skate, the team executed a perfect triple twist \u2014 it earned the maximum of 9 points (6.00 base value + 3.00 for grade of execution). In addition to the twist, Tarasova and Morozov received all positive grades of execution points for the rest of their elements, which included side-by-side triple salchows and triple toe-double toe-double toe combination, and throw triple loop and triple flip. The team earned a free skate score of 155.00 and a total score of 235.25, both personal best scores, to win the silver medal.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>After Alekandra Boikova touched her hand down on the throw triple flip in the short program, the reigning World bronze medalists Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii were in need of a perfect free skate for any chance at a medal. In their \u201cMalaguena\u201d free skate, Kozlovskii landed the triple toe on the quarter in the team\u2019s side-by-side triple toe-double toe-double toe combination. Also, Boikova stumbled on the throw triple loop. The team earned a free skate score of 141.91 and a total score of 220.50 to finish in fourth place.<\/p>\n<\/a>Peng and Jin said they have no regrets with their performances in Beijing.<\/p>\n<\/a>In their \u201cFix You\u201d free skate, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, who won silver with Team USA in the team event, delivered a skate that included a throw triple flip and triple loop. The only mistake came on their side-by-side triple salchows, where Frazier doubled the element. They finished in sixth place with a free skate score of 138.45 and an overall score of 212.68, which was a personal best free skate and total score for the team.<\/p>\n