Shanghai 2015 - 'We will be victorious' Indeed (Pairs Final)

The pairs' final is undoubtedly the one China has been waiting for the most. Pairs is, after all, the discipline in which they thrive. If that's not enough of a reason, today is the last competitive day of Qing Pang and Jian Tong. The whole of Shanghai is going to be willing them to retire with a third World title, but it is more likely that they will finish their careers with a second World silver medal. The gold medal looks to be heading to Canada, in which case we will witness Duhamel & Radford's first World victory.

Harry Potter on ice, but not really
Source: Xialo Ghu/Getty Images Asia

Amani Fancy/Christopher Boyadji bring an all-British story on ice: Harry Potter. It is a story I never thought I'd see in figure skating despite the gorgeous soundtrack, because it's too complex to condense in three and a half minutes. There's barely any elements of it in the choreography, which proves my point. They make a mess of it on a technical level as well: she doubles out of the triple Salchow, falls on the throw Triple Flip and double-foots the landing of the thrown triple Salchow. Their score: 83.53. Overall: 130.22.

Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang receive a boost from their home crowd and make less mistakes than usually. In fact, the only mistake is her stepping out of the double Axel. Their song is Danse Macabre by Dmitri Shostakovich. They get 136.96 points. Overall: 206.63.

Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov tell us a story of love grown into madness on the dramatic strings of Tchaikovski's Manfred Symphony. Interpretation-wise, they sell it very well, but she steps out of the throw Quad Salchow and falls on the throw triple Loop. Their score: 127.32. Overall: 198.91.

It's not a smooth performance for Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford, which is unusual because they are one of the most confident pairs out there. She puts a hands down on the throw quad Salchow and he loses his balance during the second position of the side-by-side spins. I blame the errors on the pressure and nerves that come from being this close to winning a World title. They get 144.55 points. Overall: 221.53.

The 2015 World medalists
Source: Xialo Ghu/Getty Images Asia

I've probably said it before, but I will use this moment in time to say it again: Qing Pang/Jian Tong are the most elegant pair in the world. I, for one, will miss their grace and their beautiful choices of music and costumes. They make some small errors here, I'm afraid: the side-by-side Axels are out of sync and he loses control over his side-by-side spin, which makes him get dangerously close to her. This means that they will not win the title. Their score: 140.18. Overall: 212.77.

Wenjing Sui/Cong Han are the next big thing in Chinese pair skating, but they've already shown that they will not exactly follow in the footsteps of Pang/Tong, by choosing more entertaining routines. Not in the free though, where they skate on Francesca de Rimini. There is a struggle in the story; I'm not sure if it's internal or between them, but the important thing is that it stays fictional. Their surety never wavers, making their programme cleaner than those who came before them despite the difference in experience. They get 142.49 points. Overall: 214.12.

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford have brought so much to the sport in the last two seasons, it's only fair that they are crowned as World champions. Wenjing Sui and Cong Han bring hope to the future of Chinese figure skating by winning the silver medal. Qing Pang and Jian Tong win one last World bronze medal (their third) before retiring from competition. Congratulations to all of them.