Chinese figure skating duo Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo became the first Chinese skaters to enter the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
The husband and wife duo have won three World Figure Skating Championships among many other medals from competitions since they became partners in 1992. They also won an Olympic gold medal in the pairs figure skating event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
That was China’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport.
Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue win gold for pairs figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. /CFP Photo
Shen told Xinhua they felt proud to realize Chinese skaters’ dream of a place in the Hall of Fame.
She said that Chinese figure skating has been rising gradually to break Russia’s dominance of the sport, and that the country will put even more focus on figure skating after succeeding in its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Zhao is also the pairs figure skating head coach of the Chinese national team. His team members, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong grabbed top honors in the World Figure Skating Championship in March.
Russian skater Alexei Yagudin, coach Alexei Mishin, Austria’s Trixi Schuba and Canadian choreographer Sarah Kawahara were also among the elected.
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