2026 Winter Olympics: China pair ready to defend figure skating gold after 3-year break

Olympic pairs figure skating champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong will be back to defend their title at the 2026 Winter Games, after winning gold at China’s national championships.\nThe duo, who only returned to competition in October after a three-year break, will be their country’s only representatives in the discipline at the Milano-Cortina Olympics in February.\nAnother veteran partnership, Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu, also booked their spots at next year’s Games, sealing qualification after topping the ice dancing at the National Figure Skating Championships in Harbin on Saturday.\n“We have now secured our place for Milan. I hope we can both step onto the ice in good health,” Sui said.\nSui and Han skated last in the free skate, performing an upgraded version of their programme to music from the Chinese dance drama “A Tapestry of a Legendary Land.” Despite some early errors, they scored 151.6 points and took the gold with a total of 237.57.\n\nTheir first competition since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics was the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China in October, where they won bronze, ranking first among all Chinese pairs.\nAccording to the selection rules issued by the General Administration of Sport, the highest combined score from the two events determined the Olympic spot. Sui and Han finished with a large lead, securing their third Olympic appearance.\nIn 2018, the pair won silver at Pyeongchang, before winning in front of their home fans in Beijing four years later.\nAt the start of their comeback this year, Sui, 30, made clear their target was to defend the title in Milan.\n“I think although today’s programme was not very smooth, it gives us more room to improve,” Sui said.\n“We still need more [competition] experience,” Han, 33, added. “Through these events, we gradually regain some of what we had before.”\nHan was widely believed to have retired in 2022, but this spring they reunited and after two ISU Grand Prix events, the national championships was just their third competitive stint on the ice.\nWhile acknowledging that his body “doesn’t recover as quickly as when I was younger,” Han said the pair had been working on a long-term plan to get ready for the Games.\n“In a short time, we got a lot done, discussed many details and completed three full run-throughs,” Han said. “We made some changes to the programme, music and costumes, and kept improving the routine and our technique.”\nFacing ongoing challenges, Sui said that at both Pyeongchang and Beijing, they always faced strong opponents and carried a sense of responsibility with them into competition.\nHan said that they would need even more preparation and experience to improve for Milan.\n“Whether it’s promoting Chinese culture or fighting for medals, we are always making progress,” he said.\nIn the free dance, Wang and Liu, also two-time Olympians, won with a total of 202.06 points, beating two younger pairs to finish first in the selection event.\nSince returning this season, Wang and Liu have steadily improved their form and control, not only securing China a spot at the Olympics in the qualifying event but also winning the selection, earning their third Olympic appearance.\n“Competing at the Olympics is every athlete’s dream,” Wang said. “If we can represent China for a third time, we will be very proud and do our best to show our style and level, and leave our best performance on the Olympic stage.”\nChina has now secured Olympic spots in all four figure skating disciplines, including men’s singles and women’s singles.\n