2010年温哥华冬奥会赛场上, 冰坛夫妻申雪赵宏博，伴随着经典曲目《柔板》，在冰上翩翩起舞，演绎他们在冰上相识、相恋、相守、 相伴的传奇故事。两人的眼神与动作传递出来的细腻情感，甚至超越了高难度的技术动作。最后，37岁的赵宏博和32岁的申雪以总分216.57分的高分夺得金牌。

       申雪赵宏博这对冰上伉俪,朝夕相伴16年，退役复出后继续坚持，职业生涯终于以奥运金牌圆满落幕,两人的故事本身就是花滑历史上的一段美丽传奇。 

    At their third Olympics, China’s Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao finally converted bronze into gold as they won the figure skating pairs on February 15 at the Pacific Coliseum.

    Ms. Shen and Mr. Zhao settled for third in both Salt Lake City in 2002 and Torino in 2006. They had quit the sport for two years before their triumphant return. They were the lowest-ranked team in the competition due to their lengthy absence from the ice and held a lead of just 0.7 points after the short program. 

    They are considered by skating aficionados to be among the best pair skating teams of all time. They are the world record holders for pairs’ score in the short program and in the combined total under the ISU Judging System.  

    International success

    They began skating together in 1992. They competed at their first Olympics in 1998, in Nagano, Japan, at which they finished fifth. They went on to the World Championships a year later with improved choreography and expression, and won the silver medal, becoming the first Chinese team to win a World Championship medal.

    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, although they missed a throw quadruple Salchow attempt. They became the first Chinese pair to win a medal at an Olympics for figure skating.

    Injury and retirement

    In 2005 an Achilles tendon injury to Mr. Zhao forced the team to withdraw from the World Championships. 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. They placed fifth in the short program with 62.32 points and third in the free skate with 124.59. Their lack of preparation was evident, but they managed to win a second Olympic bronze medal.

    That season proved to be strong for the duo. After earning the gold medal at the 2006 Cup of China and the 2006 NHK Trophy, they won the 2007 Four Continents Championships and the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo, Japan. That spring they also won their third World Championship title. Following the win, they married and then retired to a life of shows and public appearances. 

    They returned to competition in 2009 and began to prepare for the 2010 Olympics. They won gold medals in both the Cup of China and in Skate America. Their wins qualified them for the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Japan. 

    Olympic glory

    At the Olympics on February 14, the three-time world champions put on a breathtaking performance to finish in first place in the short program.   

    On the day next, the husband and wife team looked confident as they began their pairs’ free skating routine. Performing to“Adagio” by Italian composer Albinon Tommaso, they opened with high-flying triple toe loops. The performance was marred slightly when Mr. Zhao put down Ms. Shen from air to ice after finishing a one-hand hoist. After that, the pair completed the rest of their routine with no further errors.

    Mr. Zhao seemed to send his wife into orbit as they performed a back-to-back throw triple loop and throw triple Salchow. Ms. Shen landed each of the jumps with precision.

    The duo scored 139.91 points in the free skate and 76.66 points in the short program for a record total of 216.57 points to win the gold medal. They became the first Chinese skaters in any figure skating discipline to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games. China at the event also broke Russia’s stranglehold on the Games figure skating pairs event, taking the gold and silver medals. 

    On February 17, the couple announced their definite retirement from competitive skating to focus on their personal life.