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Veteran pair ready to roll back the yearsBy Lei lei (China Daily)Updated: 2007-01-25 10:16 China's star figure skating pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo are aiming to smash their personal best at the upcoming Asian Winter Games in Changchun, China.
To ensure a perfect performance at the Games, the two-time world champions are attaching great importance to every aspect of their program. "We are paying much attention to the details, such as eye contact during the performance and the position and angle of the spins," Zhao said. "Every movement should be perfect." Zhao, 33, is the oldest athlete in the Chinese delegation for the Games, but his love of skating has not diminished. "Skating is a happy thing for us now," said Zhao. "We like to skate as much as possible every day, so we aren't happy when we have to do other things that take away our skating time." Shen and Zhao have skated together for 14 years, becoming one of the most famous pairs in the world. They won the world title in 2002 and 2003 and took silver in 2004. Zhao then suffered an Achilles tendon injury practicing a triple toeloop, forcing them to miss the next two years. They bounced back to win bronze at the Winter Games in Turin last year, after which many thought they might retire. But they then won the Grand Prix this season with two brand new programs, and have just decided to continue through to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. "After the World Championships this year, we will stop competing for a while and spend some time promoting figure skating." said Zhao. "We plan to return to training in 2009. Given our good form, we believe we will still be in a class of our own on our return." Shen was also optimistic about their Olympic chances. "We have been skating together for many years, so I am confident that we can be fit for competition once we resume training." |
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