King and Kemp eager for more after Olympic debut

From Sportsbeat staff, Vancouver

 BRITISH champions Stacey Kemp and David King are desperate for a second bite at the Olympic cherry, having made a solid figure skating pairs debut in Vancouver.

SOLID START: After a solid if unspectacular start to their Olympic debut, Stacey Kemp and David King are desperate to get back on the ice (Getty Images)

The pairing, the first Brits in their discipline to perform on the Olympic stage since Lillehammer 1994, currently lie 16th after collecting 48.28 points for their short program at the Pacific Coliseum.

Pre-routine nerves were evident but their performance passed off without any of the hitches that have plagued the duo's season, who finished sixth at the European Championships in 2008.

Consecutive 11th-place finishes have ensued on the European stage in the last two seasons as errors have crept into the Poland-based duo's performances.

But having tested the Olympic water in Vancouver, King revealed the duo are desperate to jump in when they take to the ice for Monday's free skate.

"We've been waiting for this moment for five years and we just wanted to get out there and skate cleanly," said King.

"We've made a lot of stupid mistakes recently. We missed the death spiral at Skate America and the side by side spin at the European Championships, so it was nice to do each element well.

"We've nothing to lose, we just have to go out and carry through everything we've been working on in training.

"We've got the jitters of our Olympic debut out of the way and we need to relax and try to enjoy it."

While King and Kemp were making their first Olympic appearances, the Pacific Coliseum audience were treated to a third from Chinese favourites Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo.

The Chinese duo currently lead at the halfway point, having collected 76.66 points with German world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy hot on their heels.

AS IT HAPPENS: Day three of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

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