|
Zhangs to unveil quadruple jump
By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-13 05:35
As to the free skate on Monday, they promised to do their best.
"This is our best performance this season and our aim at this Olympics is to
show our best," Zhang Dan said.
Another Chinese pair, Pang Qing and Tong Jian, also hit the ice with their
best form. Characterized by their remarkable high and fly throw, the 2004 world
bronze medallists earned 63.19 points to Variations on a Theme of Paganini to be
placed fourth after Russia's Maria Petrova and Alexie Tikknonov.
"We are satisfied with our performance as we skated with clear minds for
every technical element," said Tong afterwards. "Achieving a good result at the
Olympics is what we expect and we are confident about the free skating."
Shen and Zhao back
The biggest news for Chinese figure skating fans may not only be the good
performance of the two young pairs, but also the return of Shen and Zhao, the
two-time world champions and two-time winners of the Grand Prix Finals.
Although placed only fifth after the short programme, Shen and Zhao still
caught much of the attention during the competition.
It's just short of a year since Zhao ruptured his Achilles tendon during a
training session, he stepped onto the Olympic ice rink and successfully landed
the triple toe-loop, a move which caused his injury.
However, the pair were not always lucky because during a side-by-side triple
jump Shen's hand touched the ice.
"The mistake was unexpected as I've never failed doing it before," said Shen.
"My partner Zhao performed very well."
Zhao expressed his satisfaction.
"Before stepping onto the ice, I felt so confident that I would land the
triple jump well," he said. "Maybe Shen thought too much about me while jumping
and didn't focus on her own role. Overall, we performed well."
History seemed to repeat itself with the unlucky pair.
|
