China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo in First Place After Olympic Skating Pairs Short Program

Usually, skating first in a competition is the kiss of death for any competitor. But China's husband and wife team of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo set an all-time record for the highest score in an international short skating program. The two-time bronze medallists and three-time World Champions, put their marriage on hold, returning to cafeteria food and dorm living to pursue their dream of Olympic gold. Their perfect side-by-side triple toe loops, enormous height and distance and perfect landing on a huge throw, unison spinning, and their beautiful artistry put them in first place going into the long free skate program on Monday. As my Dad says when he watches long-time married couples on the dance floor, "He blinks and she moves." At age 31 and 36, Shen and Zhao's exuberance and oneness on the ice belies their "senior citizen" status on the skating circuit. They will never forget this Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day.

German pair Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, reigning World Champions, were favored to take the pairs competition until Shen and Zhao came out of retirement. They took to the ice in amusing clown costumes, skating to "Here Come the Clowns." They'd struggled this year, but their first component, their triple flip throw, was high and huge, and Savchenko nailed the landing. Their triple toe loops and twists were executed perfectly. They were just a tad out of sync on their spins, but recovered nicely. Their artistic intricate spins were beautiful to watch. Their score of 75.96 was a personal best for Savchenko and Szolkowy, and they hold second place going into the long program.

Russian pair Yuko Kavaguti (who is Japanese) and Alexander Smirnov, the European Champions, skated into third place with a technical and artistic program. Kavaguti gave up her Japanese citizenship to become a Russian citizen to qualify for the games, prompting some Japanese back home to call her a traitor. Since there is no pairs skating in Japan, Kavaguti had no other options. The Russian pair nailed all their components beautifully, as Kavaguti just hung onto her landing on one throw. Their intricate, clinging spins were magical to watch. Despite a small slip by Smirnov in the beginning, their score of 74.16 puts Kavaguti and Smirnov in contention for a medal in the long free skate.

Perhaps the most enchanting couple of the evening was China's Qing Pang and Jian Tong. They just missed a medal in Torino in 2006, placing fourth, and are giving it one last shot. Their components were exact and their artistry, as Olympic announcer Nancy Kerrigan remarked, was "joyous and free." Their score of 71.50 puts them in fourth place.

China's Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang (they're not related) are in fifth place. Two Canadian pairs, Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison, and Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay hold sixth and seventh place, respectively. Dube and Davison almost hung up their skates in 2007 after Dube required 80 stitches and plastic surgery when Davison's blade sliced her face.

The only Americans in the top ten are Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, in tenth place. Evora is the girlfriend of pairs skater Jeremy Barrett, who skates with Caydee Denney. Imagine competing in the Olympics against your sweetheart - on Valentines' Day! Evora and Ladwig skated a beautiful, clean program, and were thrilled with their score, a personal best of 57.86. Personally, I think they were better than Russian pair Maria Mukhortova and Maksin Trankov, who managed to get a 63.44 out of the judges to place eighth, even after BOTH of them fell on their side-by-side toe loops, and also better than the uninspiring Ukraine's Tatvana Volosozhar and Stanislav Morozov, who placed ninth with 62.14.

Anyone in the top ten could conceivably move into medal position if the leaders make major mistakes, so there is still a slight hope for the Canadians and Americans.

Source: Viewed competition on NBC-TV; Pairs Skating Results: