Figure skating’s last competition at the Beijing Games is the pairs free skate Saturday at the Capital Indoor Stadium.
Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, a popular Chinese team, finished first in the short program on Friday. They are eager for redemption: They had victory within their grasp at the 2018 Olympics, but lost the gold medal by a mere 0.43 points.
They face tough competition from three Russian pairs. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov placed second in the short program, trailing Sui and Han by a fraction of a point. Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, the reigning world champions, were in third.
Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii of Russia led after 13 of 16 pairs had performed the free skate, with Peng Cheng and Jin Yang of China in second. The top medal contenders will skate last.
Pairs are judged on two events: Friday’s short program and Saturday’s free skate, which lasts four minutes. Medal winners will be determined by adding the scores from the two events.