Shen and Zhao finally capture elusive Olympic gold

From Sportsbeat staff, in Vancouver

SHEN Xue agreed to come out of retirement with pairs partner Zhao Hongbo on the one condition they got married - a day after Valentine's Day they were finally crowned Olympic champions.

FINALLY: China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo finally get their hands on the Olympic title (Getty Images)

The Chinese pairing produced a far from flawless free skate display of great technical complexity but interjected by errors to amass 139.91, which coupled with their score of 76.66 for their short program, gave them 216.57.

Most of their rivals made it easy for them and while Pang Qing and Tong Jian produced the stand-out performance of the night, not a soul of the 16,000 at the Pacific Coliseum could begrudge Shen and Zhao victory.

After a second consecutive Olympic bronze medal in Turin four years ago, the duo collected the 2007 world championship title and promptly hung up their skates.

But at the start of this season, having tied the knot, the duo returned to action, determined to clinch the one accolade that had eluded them.

And once their rivals had opened the door, the Chinese duo, with grace and poise, skating to Adagio in G minor, sauntered through it to top the podium and become the first non-Russian Olympic pairs champions since 1960 in Squaw Valley.

As the final four pairings prepared to take to the ice, the gold medallists were anyone's guess.

Russian European champions Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirov have a habit of being either sublime or sub-standard, and this time it was the latter, ensuring the Russian grip on the Olympic crown was over.

Germany's world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy have blown hot and cold this season.

A model of consistency a year ago, they have been more unpredictable than the Vancouver weather this campaign.

And while they were not lacking in ambition, they were sadly lacking in aptitude and a fall from Szolkowy on the double axel brought an end to their gold medal hopes.

Shen and Zhao were edging ever closer to the elusive gold but the pressure was finally applied by a near-flawless performance from compatriots Pang and Tong.

They collected 141.81 points for their free skate and set the standard at 213.31 - work was still to be done for the sentimental favourites, indeed Zhao took the opportunity to salute his rivals before taking to the ice, such was the quality of the performance.

Unlike their short program Shen and Zhao's their free skate was not perfect and it did not beat their rivals score, but they had done enough to top the podium - the medal collection is finally complete.

AS IT HAPPENS: Day four from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

IN PICTURES: Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo claim pars gold