Sui Wenjing and Han Cong(right) Photo: VCG

As the song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by the well-known duet Simon & Garfunkel echoed across the ice rink at Beijing 2022, another duo, Chinese skaters Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, completed their Long Program. This touching but powerful performance successfully earned them their first ever Olympic championship title and China's second gold in the pair skating event.

In an interview with the Global Times, the pair said the win was the "perfect conclusion" to their 15 years of day-to-day cooperation filled with ups and downs. 

However "the Olympic title isn't an end. Instead, it is a new beginning for our future goal of developing winter sports in China," Sui told the Global Times.

The duo first performed to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in 2017 at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland, where it helped them win first place.

When thinking about what music to perform for the Long Program at Beijing 2022, Han told the Global Times that they had never considered anything else besides the Simon & Garfunkel song.

"Maybe the music is not the strongest or the grandest, but I feel like this song is a story about us. Both of us have a deep feeling for 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' as it somehow reminds us of our past 15 years of memories, both the good and bad ones," Han added.

Long hard road

The path to Olympic gold was never easy.

With their hard work and their excellent techniques on the ice, Sui and Han, born in 1995 and 1992 respectively, have won almost every youth competition they took part in when they were young. Yet constant injuries and accidents created a massive barrier to overcome when it came to reaching the Olympic podium.

In 2014, an ankle injury caused Sui constant pain, forcing the pair to pull out of the Sochi Olympics, their first opportunity for Olympic gold. 

"We prepared so much for the Sochi Olympic Games, such as a program that was set to break the Asian ice dancing record. It involved traditional Chinese music and I even learned how to play the flute for the performance," recalled Sui.

"I have to admit that it was a huge regret for us after preparing so much."

In 2016, Sui finally underwent foot ligament surgery, after which she went through a long recovery period. 

The doubt about whether she would ever skate again left her in despair. 

For Han, training alone, encouraging his partner and waiting were the only items on his agenda every day. 

"The training arena and the hospital were the only two places that I would go," Han said.

After four years of waiting, the pair finally had the chance to compete at Pyeongchang 2018. Their performance there won them a silver medal.

Looking back at their performance, the pair admitted that it "was a bit frightening." 

"You have only one chance to complete dozens of movements in minutes, which is quite a challenge for skaters competing for the podium," recalled Sui.

Four years later in Beijing, the then two-time world champions finished their entire routine with a total of 155.47 points, surpassing Team China's top competitor - ROC'S Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, who won silver. 

Passion never dies

Looking back on the past 30 years of figure skating history, the Western-dominated world barely paid attention to the great performances of Chinese skaters or even Asian skaters until the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, when Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo shined with an outstanding performance that won China its first gold medal in the event at the Olympic Games. Sui and Han's gold at Beijing 2022 would become its second.

"It's been a hard road to walk. But every time we saw the national flag being raised at the rink, we'd be so proud of ourselves and believed that our hard work had paid off," Han added.

Beijing 2022 also brought a younger generation of athletes to the front stage. The pair has established good relationships with new blood such as skier Gu Ailing and snowboarder Su Yiming, who also claimed gold for China in their events.

"You can see a sense of resilience in them, which is full of energy and expectations for the future. Through them you can see the possibilities in yourself," commented Sui.

Talking about her future career direction, Sui said she is applying to be a choreography major, as she believes figure skating is a combination of this art form and skating techniques. 

"I have too many creative ideas for figure skating, such as the use of Chinese elements, which requires continuous learning, and of course endless passion for skating, which is the key to success."