CHINA AT THE OLYMPICS: Figure Skating: Shen, Zhao claim China's first figure skating gold

Vancouver (AFP) - Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo gave China their first ever Olympic figure skating title when they won gold in the pairs event in Vancouver on Monday. The husband-and-wife team led a Chinese 1-2 ahead of teammates Pang Qing and Tong Jian with Germany's reigning two-time world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy taking bronze after the free skating final. Shen, 31, and Zhao, 36, had returned after retiring for two years in their bid to claim gold after winning bronze at the past two Olympics. But they faced a tense wait to see if they had secured the title following a stunning free skate by Pang and Tong to the music Impossible Dream giving which gave them a new world record mark of 141.81 in the free skate. Pang and Tong, the 2006 world champions, surged from fourth after the short programme with an overall 213.31. Shen and Zhao scored second highest in the free skate after errors in their routine to Adagio in G Minor by Tomaso Albinoni but it was enough to secure victory with 139.91 and 216.57 overall for a new world record score. The Germans dropped to third after Szolkowy fell on a double axel in their routine to the soundtrack Out of Africa, giving them 134.64 for the programme and 210.60 overall.

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