Sui Wenjing and Han Cong take a long, winding path to Olympic gold: ‘Step out and be brave’

Sui Wenjing and Han Cong faced the ultimate pressure moment.

Competing as the final team in the pairs figure skating event, the Chinese duo took to center ice as a nation watched: It was the penultimate night of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 - and the expectation for gold was enormous.

The pairs event – normally held at the start of an Olympic skating schedule – had been moved to last. For them. This was what it was all meant to be for.

“Before stepping onto the ice, we knew our rivals had performed so well,” Han told reporters that night in Mandarin. “To be honest, we were under huge pressure.”

In the four minutes that followed, they delivered under that said pressure, capturing Olympic gold four years after they had won silver at PyeongChang 2018 - both results decided by less than a point.

The two-time world champions, over 15 years into their partnership, were now Olympic gold medallists, too.

“This is an unforgettable night,” Sui said, also in Chinese. “We realised our dreams in our homeland. We put a very good icing on the cake and we are very proud of that. Compared with PyeongChang four years ago – we have changed the colour [of our medal]. We achieved this grand goal. We have been through so much, been through so many injuries."

The injuries and surgeries – for both skaters – have been many, indeed, but Han said it was the doubt and nay-sayers they had faced since they had teamed up that motivated them especially. People had told them for years that Han was too small for a pairs man, that the duo couldn’t compete with the top teams in the world.

“From a very young age, from the underdog that no one believed that we can do pair skating because of our [sizes], we now become Olympic champions," Han said.