Figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Pair skating

Pair skating was contested during the figure skating events at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Pair skating
at the XX Olympic Winter Games
VenuePalavela
Turin, Italy
DatesFebruary 11, 2006
February 13, 2006
Competitors20 pairs from 12 nations
Winning score204.48
Medalists
Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin  Russia
Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao  China
Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo  China
Figure skating at the
2006 Winter Olympics
Singlesmenladies
Pairs mixed
Ice dance mixed

This event is performed by partners consisting of a female and male skater. The competition consists of two segments. A short program is skated first, with eight required elements performed within 2 minutes and 50 seconds. All pairs progress to the free skating, where each pair skates for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. There were 20 pairs who competed at the 2006 Games.

Short program

The pairs' short program was the first figure skating event of the Olympics, and took place on 11 February, with the free skating completed on 13 February. Two-time World Champions and Russians Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin were the pre-tournament favorites to win.[1] They were expected to be challenged by two-time World Champions and reigning Olympic bronze medalists Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo, but an injury to Zhao initially kept them out of contention for the gold medal. However, the team was able to get back into shape for the Olympics.[2]

Totmianina and Marinin took the lead after the short program, with a score of 68.64 points. Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao of China, skating to Led Zeppelin's song Kashmir, ranked second with 64.72 points, followed closely by Maria Petrova / Alexei Tikhonov of Russia with 64.27 points. Close behind were two other Chinese pairs, Pang Qing / Tong Jian (63.19 points) and Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo (62.32 points).[3] Americans Rena Inoue / John Baldwin made history in the short program by landing the first throw triple Axel in Olympic competition, putting them in sixth place.[4]

Free skating

In free skating, Totmianina / Marinin were described by NBC as "untouchable",[5] and the pair scored a personal best 135.84 points in this segment for a combined score of 204.48. Their victory was described as "a rout"[5] The pair had suffered a setback in 2004 when Marinin dropped Totmianina during a lift, putting her in the hospital with a concussion.

The Chinese pair of Zhang / Zhang were the last to take the ice on the night of the free skating.[6] In trying to surpass the Russian pair, Zhang / Zhang attempted a throw quadruple salchow jump, never before completed successfully in competition. However, Zhang Dan fell on this element and suffered a painful injury to her knee. Since she was temporarily unable to continue, the music was stopped by the event referee. Upon the trainer's approval for Zhang Dan to continue, the couple continued their routine, "nail[ing] every other element" for the remaining four minutes.[5] NBC reported that the entire crowd gave the pair a standing ovation and showed shots of their fellow competitors, including Totmianiana / Marinin, also standing.[7] Finishing second in both parts of the competition, Zhang / Zhang received silver medals with an overall score of 189.73 points.

Their countrymen, Shen / Zhao, who were in fifth place after the short program, pulled up two places in the free skating to take the bronze medals, as they did at Salt Lake City four years earlier, with a total score of 186.91. They edged the third Chinese couple, Pang Qing / Tong Jian out of the podium by just 0.24 points.

Petrova / Tikhonov, who were in third place after the short program, dropped to fifth place overall. Germans Aljona Sawtschenko / Robin Szolkowy, who were in seventh after the short, scored the fifth best total of the free skating competition to go up on spot. Inoue / Baldwin were unable to complete their throw triple Axel in the long and dropped to seventh overall.

While Totmianina / Marinin extended the streak of gold medals in pairs for Russia and former Soviet Union to 12 consecutive Olympics, dating back to 1964, the silver medals for Zhang / Zhang are China's best ever achievement in Olympic figure skating. Up until this point, China had three bronze medals in figure skating: two from China's Chen Lu and one from Shen / Zhao.

Results

Short program
Pl. Lady's name Man's name Nation TSS TES PCS SS TR PE CH IN Deduction StN
1 Tatiana Totmianina Maxim Marinin  Russia 68.64 35.93 32.71 8.21 8.00 8.29 8.14 8.25 0 #19
2 Zhang Dan Zhang Hao  China 64.72 35.21 29.51 7.57 7.25 7.43 7.39 7.25 0 #11
3 Maria Petrova Alexei Tikhonov  Russia 64.27 33.71 30.56 7.75 7.39 7.75 7.64 7.68 0 #14
4 Pang Qing Tong Jian  China 63.19 34.09 29.10 7.32 7.11 7.32 7.32 7.29 0 #5
5 Shen Xue Zhao Hongbo  China 62.32 30.86 31.46 7.93 7.75 7.86 7.86 7.93 0 #6
6 Rena Inoue John Baldwin  United States 61.27 35.53 25.74 6.54 6.25 6.46 6.46 6.46 0 #4
7 Aliona Savchenko Robin Szolkowy  Germany 60.96 31.78 29.18 7.29 7.18 7.36 7.32 7.32 0 #20
8 Julia Obertas Sergei Slavnov  Russia 60.25 32.78 27.47 6.96 6.71 6.89 6.89 6.89 0 #18
9 Dorota Zagorska Mariusz Siudek  Poland 56.10 29.79 26.31 6.71 6.43 6.54 6.57 6.64 0 #15
10 Valerie Marcoux Craig Buntin  Canada 55.62 29.88 25.74 6.50 6.32 6.46 6.39 6.50 0 #17
11 Jessica Dube Bryce Davison  Canada 55.48 31.06 24.42 6.07 5.89 6.29 6.14 6.14 0 #16
12 Tatiana Volosozhar Stanislav Morozov  Ukraine 50.14 28.05 23.09 5.93 5.61 5.75 5.86 5.71 1 #2
13 Marcy Hinzmann Aaron Parchem  United States 49.58 26.75 23.83 6.04 5.82 5.96 5.96 6.00 1 #10
14 Marylin Pla Yannick Bonheur  France 44.24 24.35 20.89 5.36 5.07 5.21 5.32 5.14 1 #8
15 Marina Aganina Artem Knyazev  Uzbekistan 44.02 26.92 17.10 4.36 4.11 4.29 4.36 4.25 0 #1
16 Eva-Maria Fitze Rico Rex  Germany 43.86 23.74 20.12 5.07 4.89 5.07 5.04 5.07 0 #13
17 Julia Beloglazova Andrei Bekh  Ukraine 43.85 25.62 18.23 4.79 4.46 4.50 4.61 4.43 0 #9
18 Diana Rennik Aleksei Saks  Estonia 39.72 22.57 17.15 4.43 4.11 4.32 4.32 4.25 0 #12
19 Rumiana Spassova Stanimir Todorov  Bulgaria 37.27 20.65 17.62 4.43 4.14 4.43 4.54 4.50 1 #3
20 Phyo Yong-myong Jong Yong-hyok  North Korea 33.63 18.60 15.03 3.82 3.64 3.82 3.75 3.75 0 #7

Free skating
Pl. Lady's name Man's name Nation TSS TES PCS SS TR PE CH IN Deduction StN
1 Tatiana Totmianina Maxim Marinin  Russia 135.84 69.51 66.33 8.32 8.14 8.39 8.25 8.36 0 #19
2 Zhang Dan Zhang Hao  China 125.01 66.19 59.82 7.64 7.36 7.46 7.54 7.39 1 #20
3 Shen Xue Zhao Hongbo  China 124.59 62.24 62.35 7.71 7.71 7.82 7.86 7.86 0 #14
4 Pang Qing Tong Jian  China 123.48 62.78 60.70 7.61 7.43 7.71 7.57 7.61 0 #18
5 Aliona Savchenko Robin Szolkowy  Germany 119.19 60.21 58.98 7.36 7.32 7.39 7.43 7.36 0 #15
6 Maria Petrova Alexei Tikhonov  Russia 117.42 57.00 60.42 7.57 7.43 7.61 7.61 7.54 0 #17
7 Rena Inoue John Baldwin  United States 113.74 60.27 54.47 6.96 6.61 6.86 6.79 6.82 1 #16
8 Dorota Zagorska Mariusz Siudek  Poland 109.85 58.14 51.71 6.64 6.36 6.50 6.43 6.39 0 #11
9 Julia Obertas Sergei Slavnov  Russia 106.29 54.37 52.92 6.71 6.57 6.61 6.68 6.50 1 #13
10 Jessica Dube Bryce Davison  Canada 104.23 54.99 49.24 6.21 6.04 6.14 6.25 6.14 0 #12
11 Valerie Marcoux Craig Buntin  Canada 102.59 52.82 50.77 6.36 6.18 6.46 6.36 6.36 1 #10
12 Tatiana Volosozhar Stanislav Morozov  Ukraine 98.24 52.55 46.69 5.93 5.68 5.89 5.93 5.75 1 #9
13 Marcy Hinzmann Aaron Parchem  United States 97.47 52.28 45.19 5.79 5.50 5.68 5.64 5.64 0 #7
14 Marylin Pla Yannick Bonheur  France 88.60 48.14 40.46 5.21 4.86 5.14 5.11 4.96 0 #5
15 Diana Rennik Aleksei Saks  Estonia 78.41 45.44 32.97 4.29 3.89 4.18 4.21 4.04 0 #3
16 Eva-Maria Fitze Rico Rex  Germany 76.37 38.88 39.49 5.04 4.82 4.93 4.96 4.93 2 #8
17 Marina Aganina Artem Knyazev  Uzbekistan 75.53 42.07 34.46 4.50 4.18 4.29 4.39 4.18 1 #6
18 Rumiana Spassova Stanimir Todorov  Bulgaria 73.98 40.16 33.82 4.32 4.07 4.25 4.29 4.21 0 #1
19 Julia Beloglazova Andrei Bekh  Ukraine 71.77 37.80 34.97 4.54 4.25 4.36 4.39 4.32 1 #4

Final standings
Rank Name Nation Total points SP FS
1 Tatiana Totmianina / Maxim Marinin  Russia 204.48 1 68.64 1 135.84
2 Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao  China 189.73 2 64.72 2 125.01
3 Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo  China 186.91 5 62.32 3 124.59
4 Pang Qing / Tong Jian  China 186.67 4 63.19 4 123.48
5 Maria Petrova / Alexei Tikhonov  Russia 181.69 3 64.27 6 117.42
6 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy  Germany 180.15 7 60.96 5 119.19
7 Rena Inoue / John Baldwin  United States 175.01 6 61.27 7 113.74
8 Julia Obertas / Sergei Slavnov  Russia 166.54 8 60.25 9 106.29
9 Dorota Zagórska / Mariusz Siudek  Poland 165.95 9 56.10 8 109.85
10 Jessica Dubé / Bryce Davison  Canada 159.71 11 55.48 10 104.23
11 Valérie Marcoux / Craig Buntin  Canada 158.21 10 55.62 11 102.59
12 Tatiana Volosozhar / Stanislav Morozov  Ukraine 148.38 12 50.14 12 98.24
13 Marcy Hinzmann / Aaron Parchem  United States 147.05 13 49.58 13 97.47
14 Marylin Pla / Yannick Bonheur  France 132.84 14 44.24 14 88.60
15 Eva-Maria Fitze / Rico Rex  Germany 120.23 16 43.86 16 76.37
16 Marina Aganina / Artem Knyazev  Uzbekistan 119.55 15 44.02 17 75.53
17 Diana Rennik / Aleksei Saks  Estonia 118.13 18 39.72 15 78.41
18 Julia Beloglazova / Andrei Bekh  Ukraine 115.62 17 43.85 19 71.77
19 Rumiana Spassova / Stanimir Todorov  Bulgaria 111.25 19 37.27 18 73.98
WD Phyo Yong-myong / Jong Yong-hyok  North Korea 20 33.63
  • WD = Withdrawn

Referee:

  • Hely Abbondati

Technical Controller:

Technical Specialist:

  • David Kirby

Assistant Technical Specialist:

  • David Moellenkamp

Judges:

  • Adriana Domanska
  • Zoia Yordanova
  • Marina Sanaya
  • Reinhard Mirmseker
  • Igor Fedchenko
  • Pierre de Lacroix
  • Evgeni Rokhin
  • Anna Sierocka
  • Kristina Houwing
  • William Smith
  • William Thompson
  • Wang Yumin

References
  1. Russian pairs favorites ready to compete, from Reuters, retrieved 15 February 2006
  2. China's Zhao back beaming after injury, from Reuters, retrieved 12 February 2006
  3. Pairs Figure Skating – Pairs Short Program Archived 2006-04-07 at the Wayback Machine, from torino2006.org, retrieved 15 February 2006
  4. U.S. pair does first Olympic 'throw triple Axel', from Associated Press, retrieved 15 February 2006
  5. Russian roll continues in a rout, from Associated Press, retrieved 15 February 2006
  6. Chinese skater delivers gutsy performance, from Reuters, retrieved 15 February 2006
  7. TURIN 2006: NBC deserves gold for capturing Olympic drama, from The London Free Press
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