It”s official: The school trainer and the choreographer are lacing up for the Olympics as soon as once more.
Greater than three years after what was believed to be their excellent profession finale, China’s Olympic champion determine skaters Han Cong and Sui Wenjing, having each indefinitely retired since profitable the pairs gold at Beijing 2022, are heading to Milano-Cortina 2026 to embark on their third Olympic marketing campaign, hoping their daring comeback towards lengthy odds will give their nation’s struggling program a wanted enhance.
Though nonetheless rusty of their routines, and apparently not fairly of their greatest form, the returning veterans have proved that they continue to be the go-to pair for Workforce China at the 2026 Video games after sturdy chemistry and inventive expression noticed them prevail to win the nationwide championships title on Saturday at simply their third official meet since deciding in June to return to motion.
The nationwide title, following their third-place end at the ISU Determine Skating Grand Prix sequence’ Cup of China in October, helped safe their place as China’s sole consultant in pairs in Milan after capping off the two-occasion home trials as the highest-ranked duo.
The youthful duo of Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang, who earned China a nationwide quota place in Milan at September’s Olympic qualifying occasion, was outranked by their veteran counterparts in the trials after ending fourth and third at the Cup of China and the nationwide championships, respectively.
The proud alternative to skate in Milan, nevertheless, wasn’t fairly a part of both Han’s, or Sui’s, submit-Beijing 2022 plans, with each of them having already carved out totally different profession paths after realizing their greatest objective on their dwelling ice.
The 33-yr-previous Han has develop into a technical delegate with the Worldwide Skating Union and, since 2023, been a PE trainer at Tsinghua College, giving up the ascetic way of life that he’d embraced for greater than a decade to remain match and powerful.
Sui, who’s three years Han’s junior, additionally enjoys a various life, finding out choreography at Beijing Dance Academy, finishing her submit-graduate diploma at Beijing Sport College and co-directing at artwork exhibits, reminiscent of the 2025 Asian Winter Video games’ opening ceremony in February.
With the nation’s stagnant determine skating program struggling to remain aggressive getting into the present Olympic cycle, the two-time world champions responded to the call of obligation with out hesitation.
“It is an enormous problem for certain, however we have been conditioned to all the time defy the odds over the previous eight years throughout the two Olympics through which we have competed,” Sui stated after pairing with Han to attain 151.60 factors in Saturday’s free skate, taking the nationwide title with a mixed complete of 237.57 following Friday’s brief program.
“We felt it was our accountability to step up when the nationwide program hit a bump at a troublesome time. By coming again to signify our nation at the Olympics once more, we hope to set an instance for the youthful era.”
The best way again was, in fact, filled with sweat and ache, with doubts additionally sporting them down with every coaching setback.
Han has needed to lose 10 kilograms in weight, getting on a food regimen whereas nursing a proper arm harm that occurred when making an attempt a carry in his first on-ice coaching session in June.
Sui, who’s already had surgical procedure on each ankles and needed to study to stroll once more previous to Pyeongchang 2018, suffered a bone contusion in her proper foot at their second occasion — the Grand Prix Japan leg in November — and needed to take painkillers earlier than Saturday’s free skate to numb her ankle ache to have the ability to land throw jumps.
“Bodily, we have come a great distance and have improved quite a bit over a month of stable coaching since the final Grand Prix occasion,” stated Han, who stands at 1.7 meters tall, method under the common peak of a male companion in pairs at the worldwide stage.
“We did not carry out the greatest type that we have seen in coaching at this meet, we’re nonetheless missing some confidence on the ice, and we simply roughly accomplished the choreography of our brief and free applications.
“Meaning we nonetheless have a lot room for enchancment and a variety of particulars to refine, which truly makes us extra assured for the high quality of the program we are going to in the end carry out in Milan.”
Sui and Han made up for his or her conditioning points and flaws in execution, uncovered by a couple of shaky landings by Sui in her particular person leap and a throw off Han, with their inventive expression, a specific energy of the duo that has helped them gather 5 world championships medals, together with two gold, since 2015.
The smoothness of their step sequence and technical element of their lifts and jumps can be superb-tuned after brainstorming classes and on-line evaluations with their lengthy-time period Canadian choreographer Lori Nichol, via many “face-time calls”, stated Sui.
Earlier on Saturday, the veteran ice dance duo Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu scored 120.65 factors to high the discipline and end with a complete of 202.06, delivering a convincing victory and securing their ticket to the Milan Olympics.
Teen prodigy Zhang Ruiyang will signify China in ladies’s singles after inserting second at the nationwide meet, whereas two-time Olympian skater Jin Boyang booked a visit to his third Olympics in males’s singles by profitable the nationwide title on Sunday.
sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn
