Monday, October 13, 2008
Zheng Xun
Zheng Xun is a ice dancer. He competes with Huang Xintong. They are the 2007 Chinese national champions.
Zhao Hongbo
Zhao Hongbo is a pair skater. With his partner Shen Xue, they won three titles, five Grand Prix Final championships and two medals.
At the 2004-2005 Grand Prix Final, they set the World Records under the ISU Judging System for the short program, free skating, and overall combined scores. The short program score has since been broken.
At the end of their free skate at the 2007 Worlds, Zhao attempted to propose to Shen, but did not manage to get the question across until some time afterwards. They have since married.
They currently live and coach in Shenzhen.
Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo began skating together in 1992, under the tutelage of Yao Bin.
They competed at their first Olympics in , in Nagano, Japan and finished a respectable fifth. They went on to the a year later with improved choreography and expression, and won the silver medal, becoming the first Chinese team to ever win a World Championship medal.
Shen and Zhao improved each year, and were considered to be one of the top teams in the world. They won another silver medal at the Worlds in 2000, and a bronze in 2001. They were considered strong medal contenders in the 2002 Winter Olympics. They won the bronze with a strong performance, missing a throw quadruple attempt. They became the first Chinese pair to win a medal at the Olympics for figure skating.
Shen and Zhao won their first World Championship in 2002. They repeated this win the following year in Washington D.C. While practing their throw quadruple salchow, Shen landed badly and severely injured her landing foot and ankle. She required several treatments to numb the foot entirely so that she should compete. The pair performed a brilliant long program that earned them several perfect 6.0's for both technical merits and presentation.
Their attempt to win a third straight World title in 2004 was thwarted when Zhao fell during their short program. They rebounded to win the free program with a string of 6.0s, but it was only good enough for second overall behind their new rivals Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia. Their problems escalated in 2005 when Zhao's achilles injury forced them to withdraw from the World Championships, and weeks later, he ruptured the tendon during practice. They missed the entire competitive season and were unable to return to the ice until weeks before the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Their lack of adequate preparation was obvious, but they managed to win a second Olympic bronze medal.
The 2006-07 proved to be a very strong season for the pairs by winning the , the 2007 Asian Winter Games, the 2007 , and most importantly, the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. On March 21, 2007 they won their third World Championship title, and announced their plan to retire and marry.
WD = Withdrew
At the 2004-2005 Grand Prix Final, they set the World Records under the ISU Judging System for the short program, free skating, and overall combined scores. The short program score has since been broken.
Personal life
At the end of their free skate at the 2007 Worlds, Zhao attempted to propose to Shen, but did not manage to get the question across until some time afterwards. They have since married.
They currently live and coach in Shenzhen.
Early career
Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo began skating together in 1992, under the tutelage of Yao Bin.
They competed at their first Olympics in , in Nagano, Japan and finished a respectable fifth. They went on to the a year later with improved choreography and expression, and won the silver medal, becoming the first Chinese team to ever win a World Championship medal.
Shen and Zhao improved each year, and were considered to be one of the top teams in the world. They won another silver medal at the Worlds in 2000, and a bronze in 2001. They were considered strong medal contenders in the 2002 Winter Olympics. They won the bronze with a strong performance, missing a throw quadruple attempt. They became the first Chinese pair to win a medal at the Olympics for figure skating.
Shen and Zhao won their first World Championship in 2002. They repeated this win the following year in Washington D.C. While practing their throw quadruple salchow, Shen landed badly and severely injured her landing foot and ankle. She required several treatments to numb the foot entirely so that she should compete. The pair performed a brilliant long program that earned them several perfect 6.0's for both technical merits and presentation.
Their attempt to win a third straight World title in 2004 was thwarted when Zhao fell during their short program. They rebounded to win the free program with a string of 6.0s, but it was only good enough for second overall behind their new rivals Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia. Their problems escalated in 2005 when Zhao's achilles injury forced them to withdraw from the World Championships, and weeks later, he ruptured the tendon during practice. They missed the entire competitive season and were unable to return to the ice until weeks before the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Their lack of adequate preparation was obvious, but they managed to win a second Olympic bronze medal.
The 2006-07 proved to be a very strong season for the pairs by winning the , the 2007 Asian Winter Games, the 2007 , and most importantly, the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. On March 21, 2007 they won their third World Championship title, and announced their plan to retire and marry.
Competitive highlights
Post-2001
WD = Withdrew
Pre-2001
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Zhang Shubin
Zhang Shubin is a retired figure skater. He placed 20th at the 1988 Winter Olympics and 25th at the 1992 Winter Olympics. He is the 1985 champion. He retired from competitive skating in 1992 and currently works as a coach.
Zhang Hao
Zhang Hao is a Chinese . He competes with Zhang Dan . They are the
Zhang Hao previously competed with Zhang Liyun. He teamed up with Zhang in 1997. They immeidately had a lot of success on the junior circuit. They won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix in their first year on it and then placed 5th at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They also won the bronze medal at the 1999 Chinese national championships and the silver at the 2000 Chinese national championships.
In the 2000-2001 season, they won the Junior Grand Prix Final, placed third at nationals, and then won Junior Worlds. At the 2000 Junior Worlds, they performed a quadruple twist, the first quad twist ever performed at that event.
They stayed junior in the 2001-2002 season, winning the Junior Grand Prix Final yet again. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 Four Continents Championships and then went to the 2002 Olympics, where they placed 11th. After the Olympics, they went to their first Worlds and came in 9th.
In the 2002-2003 season, they did both Junior and senior Grand Prix, due to ISU rules that pairs can do both in one season. They won the Junior Grand Prix event in China, then performed well at both their Grand Prix events, placing 4th in both of them. They went to Junior Worlds and once again won it before going to Worlds and placing 6th.
Following that season, Zhang and Zhang became serious contenders. They consistently medaled at their Grand Prix events. They won the 2005 Four Continents Championships and then won the bronze at the 2005 Worlds.
Zhang and Zhang went into the 2006 Olympics as medal contenders. During their free skate, Zhang Dan had a bad fall on their attempted throw quadruple salchow, a jump that was not consistent. Zhang Dan suffered a bad injury, but chose to finish the program. Although the delay between the fall and the continuation of the program was longer than the ISU-proscribed 2 minutes, they were not automatically withdrawn because the referee waited before stopping the music and beginning the official 2 minute wait. Zhang regrouped and was able to finish the program. They won the silver medal, placing ahead of defending Olympic medalsts Shen Xue and Hongbo Zhao. At Worlds, they won the silver, behind Pang Qing and Tong Jian.
In the 2006-2007 season, Zhang and Zhang did very well. However, at the 2007 Worlds, they did not do very well, and placed 5th.
Biography
Zhang Hao previously competed with Zhang Liyun. He teamed up with Zhang in 1997. They immeidately had a lot of success on the junior circuit. They won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix in their first year on it and then placed 5th at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They also won the bronze medal at the 1999 Chinese national championships and the silver at the 2000 Chinese national championships.
In the 2000-2001 season, they won the Junior Grand Prix Final, placed third at nationals, and then won Junior Worlds. At the 2000 Junior Worlds, they performed a quadruple twist, the first quad twist ever performed at that event.
They stayed junior in the 2001-2002 season, winning the Junior Grand Prix Final yet again. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 Four Continents Championships and then went to the 2002 Olympics, where they placed 11th. After the Olympics, they went to their first Worlds and came in 9th.
In the 2002-2003 season, they did both Junior and senior Grand Prix, due to ISU rules that pairs can do both in one season. They won the Junior Grand Prix event in China, then performed well at both their Grand Prix events, placing 4th in both of them. They went to Junior Worlds and once again won it before going to Worlds and placing 6th.
Following that season, Zhang and Zhang became serious contenders. They consistently medaled at their Grand Prix events. They won the 2005 Four Continents Championships and then won the bronze at the 2005 Worlds.
Zhang and Zhang went into the 2006 Olympics as medal contenders. During their free skate, Zhang Dan had a bad fall on their attempted throw quadruple salchow, a jump that was not consistent. Zhang Dan suffered a bad injury, but chose to finish the program. Although the delay between the fall and the continuation of the program was longer than the ISU-proscribed 2 minutes, they were not automatically withdrawn because the referee waited before stopping the music and beginning the official 2 minute wait. Zhang regrouped and was able to finish the program. They won the silver medal, placing ahead of defending Olympic medalsts Shen Xue and Hongbo Zhao. At Worlds, they won the silver, behind Pang Qing and Tong Jian.
In the 2006-2007 season, Zhang and Zhang did very well. However, at the 2007 Worlds, they did not do very well, and placed 5th.
Competitive highlights
Navigation
Zhang Dan
Zhang Dan is a Chinese pair skater. With her partner Zhang Hao, she is the .
The unrelated Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao teamed up in 1997. They immediately had a lot of success on the junior circuit. They won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix in their first year on it and then placed 5th at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They also won the bronze medal at the 1999 Chinese national championships and the silver at the 2000 Chinese national championships.
In the 2000-2001 season, they won the Junior Grand Prix Final, placed third at nationals, and then won Junior Worlds. At the 2000 Junior Worlds, they performed a quadruple twist, the first quad twist ever performed at that event.
They stayed in the junior ranks in the 2001-2002 season, winning the Junior Grand Prix Final yet again. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 Four Continents Championships and then went to the 2002 Olympics, where they placed 11th. After the Olympics, they went to their first Worlds and came in 9th place.
In the 2002-2003 season, they competed at both the Junior and senior Grand Prix, due to ISU rules that pairs can do both in one season. They won the Junior Grand Prix event in China, then performed well at both their Grand Prix events, placing 4th in both of them. They went to Junior Worlds and once again won it before going to the World Figure Skating Championships and placing 6th.
Following that season, Zhang and Zhang became serious contenders. They consistently medaled at their Grand Prix events. They won the 2005 Four Continents Championships and then won the bronze at the 2005 Worlds.
Zhang and Zhang went into the 2006 Olympics as medal contenders. They had planned a for the free skate, a jump which had not yet been landed in competition. Zhang Dan fell on it during the free skate and suffered an injury, but chose to finish the program. There was a minor controversy about finishing the program because while Zhang Dan had been lying on in the ice from the fall, the referee had stopped the music, and the Zhangs took a certain amount of time to restart the program. ISU rules say that the program can be continued, if the referee agrees the stoppage was due to a valid reason, such as injuries or equipment failures. Once the referee has approved a continuation, the skaters are given two minutes to continue the program from the point where the music stopped. Zhang regrouped within this period and was able to finish the program. They won the silver medal, placing ahead of defending Olympic medalsts Shen Xue andHongbo Zhao. At Worlds, they won the silver, behind Pang Qing and Tong Jian.
In the 2006-2007 season, Zhang and Zhang placed first at Skate Canada, second at the NHK Trophy, and would go on to place third at the Grand Prix Final. They placed 5th at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships later that season.
Biography
The unrelated Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao teamed up in 1997. They immediately had a lot of success on the junior circuit. They won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix in their first year on it and then placed 5th at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They also won the bronze medal at the 1999 Chinese national championships and the silver at the 2000 Chinese national championships.
In the 2000-2001 season, they won the Junior Grand Prix Final, placed third at nationals, and then won Junior Worlds. At the 2000 Junior Worlds, they performed a quadruple twist, the first quad twist ever performed at that event.
They stayed in the junior ranks in the 2001-2002 season, winning the Junior Grand Prix Final yet again. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 Four Continents Championships and then went to the 2002 Olympics, where they placed 11th. After the Olympics, they went to their first Worlds and came in 9th place.
In the 2002-2003 season, they competed at both the Junior and senior Grand Prix, due to ISU rules that pairs can do both in one season. They won the Junior Grand Prix event in China, then performed well at both their Grand Prix events, placing 4th in both of them. They went to Junior Worlds and once again won it before going to the World Figure Skating Championships and placing 6th.
Following that season, Zhang and Zhang became serious contenders. They consistently medaled at their Grand Prix events. They won the 2005 Four Continents Championships and then won the bronze at the 2005 Worlds.
Zhang and Zhang went into the 2006 Olympics as medal contenders. They had planned a for the free skate, a jump which had not yet been landed in competition. Zhang Dan fell on it during the free skate and suffered an injury, but chose to finish the program. There was a minor controversy about finishing the program because while Zhang Dan had been lying on in the ice from the fall, the referee had stopped the music, and the Zhangs took a certain amount of time to restart the program. ISU rules say that the program can be continued, if the referee agrees the stoppage was due to a valid reason, such as injuries or equipment failures. Once the referee has approved a continuation, the skaters are given two minutes to continue the program from the point where the music stopped. Zhang regrouped within this period and was able to finish the program. They won the silver medal, placing ahead of defending Olympic medalsts Shen Xue andHongbo Zhao. At Worlds, they won the silver, behind Pang Qing and Tong Jian.
In the 2006-2007 season, Zhang and Zhang placed first at Skate Canada, second at the NHK Trophy, and would go on to place third at the Grand Prix Final. They placed 5th at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships later that season.
Competitive highlights
Navigation
Yu Xiaoyang
Yu Xiaoyang is a ice dancer. She competes with . They are the 2006 Chinese national champions.
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