figure skating

Storybook Gold Achieved: This Was Highest-Ever Scoring Pairs Figure Skate in History

See some of the highlights from the pairs free and short programs

China has done it again.

Fresh off a record-breaking performance in the pairs short program, China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong reached storybook gold in the free, earning the highest-ever score in pairs figure skating in Olympic history.

It was a nail-biter, for sure, with the pair from China besting ROC's Evgeniya Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov by less than one point in their final scores: 239.88 to 239.25.

Wenjing and Con won the short program at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games before settling for the silver medal by a mere 43 hundredths of a point.

In 2018, it all came down to a single jump. In 2022, it all came down to that same jump (and we've got the highlights below to prove it).

Team USA fell short of the figure skating podium, with one of two duos performing a top-notch free skate routine that wasn't enough to down the top five pairs.

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, who nailed their opening short program a day ago,  scored a 138.45 in their free skate for a total score of 212.68, good enough for sixth place. The other USA duo, Timothy Leduc and Ashley Cain-Gribble, stumbled in their skate, earning a 123.92 and finished in eighth place of 16 pairs competing in the event with a total score of 198.05.

Check out the highlights from the top pairs' performances at the 2022 Winter Olympics below.

Sui/Han reach storybook gold with highest pairs score ever

Four years after missing gold by just 0.43 points, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China flipped the script with a dazzling free skate to earn the highest pairs score ever and win the Olympic title.


Tarasova/Morozov deliver in free skate for Olympic silver

ROC's Evgeniya Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov executed a stunning, 155.00-point free skate to win silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics.


Mishina/Galliamov honor Russian music in bronze-winning free

ROC's Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov scored a 154.95 with a free skate that paid homage to Russian music to capture bronze in the pairs competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics.


Knierim and Frazier finish sixth in pairs competition

A scintillating free skate performance by Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier yields 138.45 points for a total of 212.68 points and a sixth-place finish in the pairs competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics.


Cain-Gribble and LeDuc fall short in pair skating finals

Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc of USA face several mistakes in their routine in the pair skating finals.


China's Sui and Han lead after dazzling short program

China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong dazzle with their routine in the pairs short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The pair is in first place going into the free skate.


Tarasova, Morozov in second, lead ROC into free skate

Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov finish second in the short program. The pair are in second and lead the ROC's pairs going into the free skate.


ROC's Mishina and Galliamov perform solid short program

Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov perform a solid routine during the pairs short program to land them in third place going into the free skate.


Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc shine in short program

American figure skaters Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc shine in the pairs short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Cain-Gribble and LeDuc scored 74.13 points.


Knierim, Frazier light up seeing their loved ones back home

After an electric pairs short program, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier are thrilled to connect with their loved ones back home in the United States.


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