Zhao Hongbo
Zhao Hongbo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
nation | People's Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
birthday | September 12, 1973 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
place of birth | Harbin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
size | 177 cm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 76 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
discipline | Pair skating | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Partner | Shen Xue | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former partner | Xie Maomao | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
society | Harbin Ice Skating Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trainer | Yao Bin, Sun Zhiping, Sun Yu, Q. Wang |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
choreographer | Lori Nichol, Sandra Bezic, Lea Ann Miller, Michael Seibert |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
status | resigned | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
End of career | 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal table | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal best | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Placements in the figure skating Grand Prix | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
last change: 2013 |
Zhao Hongbo ( Chinese 赵宏博 , Pinyin Zhào Hóngbó , born September 12, 1973 in Harbin ) is a former Chinese figure skater who started in pair skating .
Career
Zhao was born in Harbin, the center of Chinese figure skating. He comes from a poor background and was discovered by a figure skating coach while playing basketball. So he started figure skating at the age of seven, initially as a single skater. He later switched to pair skating. His first figure skating partner was Xie Maomao. With her he entered the Junior World Championship in 1991 and was eleventh. After that, however, she ended her career.
Zhao's second figure skating partner became Shen Xue in 1992 . Her trainer was Yao Bin , who, together with partner Bo Luan, was the first Chinese participant in world championships in pair skating in 1980 . Shen / Zhao initially trained at the Harbin Training Center. However, the entire training group moved to Beijing . This training group also includes Pang Qing and Tong Jian as well as Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao . However, Shen / Zhao continued to run for the Harbin Ice Skating Club.
In 1993 Shen / Zhao became Chinese pair skating champions for the first time in their careers. By the time they retired, they should win seven more national titles. The couple made their international debut at the 1994 World Cup in Chiba . They finished it in 21st place. The international entry was not exactly great. The pirouettes were slow and asynchronous. The technology of the throwing elements also left a lot to be desired. They have also been criticized for leaving large holes in the ice, even on lifting figures.
Shen / Zhao had reached the top of the world in 1998 with fifth place at the Olympic Games in Nagano and fourth place at the world championships . In December 1998 they won the Grand Prix Final . With improved choreography and improved expression, they won the Four Continents Championship in Halifax in 1999 . In Helsinki they became vice world champions behind the Russians Jelena Bereschnaja and Anton Sicharulidze and thus won the first world championship medal in pair skating for China. In 2000 Shen / Zhao defended their silver medal at the World Championships and in 2001 it was enough for the bronze medal. So they went to the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City as co-favorites and won the bronze medal. It was the first Olympic medal for a Chinese figure skating couple. After the resignation of the Olympic champions Berezhnaya and Sicharulidze as well as Jamie Salé and David Pelletier , the way was clear for Shen / Zhao at the 2002 World Championships . In Nagano , Japan , they became the first Chinese pair skating world champions . They defended the title a year later at the 2003 World Cup in Washington , although Shen injured his foot during training. They received several top marks for their freestyle, which they ran to Vanessa Maes Variations of Puccini's Turandot . Shortly before, in front of their home crowd in Beijing, they had won the four continents championship for the second time .
The attempt to win the third world title in a row failed in 2004, despite the best freestyle to the music of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, due to a mistake by Zhao in the short program. They were defeated by Tatjana Totmjanina and Maxim Marinin . In 2005 they had to give up completely because of a strained Achilles tendon. But it was to get worse, because on August 5, 2005, Zhao tore his Achilles tendon while training at the Kunming high altitude training camp and was operated on the following day in Beijing. This hindered the preparation for the Olympic Games for 2006 considerably. They were only able to return to the ice a few weeks before the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin . Their training deficit was obvious, but it was just enough to win the bronze medal at the Olympic Games again behind Totmjanina / Marinin and their young compatriots Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao . Their fellow compatriots Pang Qing and Tong Jian were only 0.24 points behind them.
The 2006/07 season turned out to be a strong season for Shen / Zhao. They won both Grand Prix competitions in which they participated and the Grand Prix final . Then they won the Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs for the third and last time and on March 21, 2007 in Tokyo they became world champions for the third and last time . They then announced their retirement from competitive sports. Immediately after the freestyle, Zhao Hongbo also proposed to his long-time partner, which she accepted. They married that same year.
For the 2009/2010 season, Shen / Zhao announced their return to competitive sports to fulfill their last unfulfilled dream of Olympic gold. They won both Grand Prix competitions and the Grand Prix final for the sixth time , more often than any other couple. At the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver they achieved a new record in the short program with 76.66 points, 0.70 points behind Aljona Sawtschenko and Robin Szolkowy . They finished the freestyle with a personal best behind their compatriots Pang Qing and Tong Jian , who set a new point record . With a total of 216.57 points, which also points world record meant gained Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo Olympic gold before Pang / Tong and Savchenko / Szolkowy. It was the first Olympic victory for China in figure skating. Shen / Zhao ended the winning streak of Soviet and Russian pair skaters at the Olympic Games after 46 years . At 36, Zhao Hongbo was the oldest Olympic pair skating champion since Walter Jakobsson in 1920 . On February 17th, Shen / Zhao announced their final retirement from competitive sports.
After retiring from their careers, Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue appeared in various ice cream shows. You live in Shenzhen and work as a trainer. Their first child was born on September 3, 2013.
Results
Pair skating
(with Shen Xue )
Competition / year | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
winter Olympics | 5. | 3. | 3. | 1. | ||||||||||||||
World championships | 21st | 15th | 11. | 4th | 2. | 2. | 3. | 1. | 1. | 2. | Z | 1. | ||||||
Four continents championships | 1. | 2. | 1. | 1. | ||||||||||||||
Chinese championships | 1. | 1. | 2. | 1. | 1. | 1. | 1. | 1. | 1. |
- Z = withdrawn
Web links
- Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue in the database of the International Skating Union (English)
- Zhao Hongbo in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Zhao Hongbo |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | c = 赵宏博 (Chinese) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | chinese figure skater |
DATE OF BIRTH | September 12, 1973 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Harbin , People's Republic of China |