Pairs champs Shen and Zhao flying highCelebrated duo endured injuries and disappointments, but all that led to lovehttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070413.SKATE13/TPStory/Sports
BEVERLEY SMITH
[size=100%]WINNIPEG -- Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo are having the time of their lives.
One of the most beloved and respected pairs in international figure skating, Shen and Zhao overcame poverty and disadvantage in China to become three-time world champions and two-time Olympic bronze medalists.
Now, Zhao owns a 4x4 Jeep, an apartment in Beijing and is negotiating with a number of Chinese companies, all vying to stage what amounts to a royal wedding in China -- their wedding.
After finishing their long program at the world championships in Tokyo last month, Zhao bent down on one knee at centre ice and proposed marriage to Shen, who accepted. Zhao boldly planted a kiss on her cheek and they left the ice, arm in arm. They will marry next year.
"Everything was perfect at that moment," Zhao said through an interpreter, during a stop in Manitoba on the Stars on Ice tour. "I wanted to express my love in front of the whole world."
For years there had been speculation there was a romantic relationship between the quiet couple. But that was always explained away with talk that work came first and there was no time to think of such things.
That all changed when Zhao ruptured the Achilles tendon on his left foot six months before the 2006 Turin Olympics.
Disappointed with their third-place finish at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, they had worked hard and were favourites to take the gold in Turin.
They had won the 2003 world championship even after Shen had badly sprained an ankle during an early practice. When they took to the ice, and skated a flawless, mesmerizing routine, the crowd began to stand and cheer 20 seconds before their music stopped, while their coach Yao Bin wiped away tears.
But with Zhao's devastating injury, their Olympic dream became riddled with doubt.
Zhao said it was the most difficult time in his career. But through it all, Shen and Zhao found a gift. In their darkest on-ice moment, a romantic relationship began to grow.
"At that time, she paid a lot of attention to me and took care of me," Zhao said.
Only three days before they departed for Turin, Shen insisted that the still recovering Zhao finally do a triple toe loop, the jump that had caused his injury. He did.
"I wanted to kill her," he said. Well, not really.
They finished third in Turin with a courageous performance. They did not compete at the world championships in Calgary a month later because Zhao's injury had not quite healed.
The Chinese pair decided to skate this season to prove themselves on the international stage again, and went undefeated en route to claiming their third world title in Tokyo.
At the beginning of the season, Shen and Zhao came to Toronto for three weeks to have Lori Nichol design new routines for them. They came by themselves, without a coach or a translator.
"We were alone in Canada," Zhao said. "We had to depend on each other."
That warmed things up, too.
Shen and Zhao's leap to the top came after they made an effort to get help in choreography and costume design. Before they had skated as two separate beings on the ice, but a series of North American choreographers led them in a romantic direction.
"On the ice, we express love according to the western world," Zhao said. "Our music always has a theme. And this is the theme of love. With this music, we have a fantastic feeling between each other."
In Tokyo, that feeling had become decidedly romantic, for real.
"When I look in her eyes during this program, I expressed my real feeling," Zhao said. "In previous performances, I was thinking professionally, which means I was thinking about other things while I was looking at her. This year, only she was in my eye."
Shen and Zhao retired from competition after Tokyo, but they haven't ruled out a return for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Right now, it's too far away to think about.
"We are very tired," Shen said.
"We want a holiday," agreed Zhao, leaning back in a chair and stretching his arms out.
He said a Chinese company has offered to invest $1-million to stage their wedding. While another has suggested the ceremony take place on ice.
The pair are widely recognized in China, and do the talk-show circuit. They have a list of sponsors as long as their arms, including Nike and Visa.
"This year, we will be very busy," Zhao said. "A lot of companies want to have contracts with us."
Shen began life as the daughter of a shop clerk in the north-east city of Harbin, in a family that was poorer than average and lived in a single room. Zhao's family had a higher station in life, living in a rent-free apartment.
Shen has now purchased a modern new apartment for her parents, while Zhao is bringing his mother to live with him in Beijing. That will make his home warmer, he says.
"We are self-satisfied people," Zhao said. "We don't need to have a lot of things to satisfy our desires. As long as we are happy, that is what matters."
Canada has always held a special place in the hearts of Shen and Zhao. Their first world championship was in Edmonton in 1996. Although they finished 15th, the crowd recognized their talents and gave them a standing ovation.
Also, Zhao's best friend, Liu Wei, lives in Edmonton. Liu moved to Canada and skated one year as an ice dancer, but has now become a dentist. Liu and Zhao were roommates during a six-month span when members of the Chinese team trained in Sverdlovsk, Russia.
"We are like brothers," Zhao said. They call each other often.
Liu first watched Shen and Zhao as a team at the Edmonton world championships and he travelled to Tokyo to watch them last month.
"Our major obstacle [in Canada] is the language problem," said Zhao, who can speak some English. "I believe I can mix in with Canadian society very well. I like the Canadians very much. I have a lot of friends in Canada.
"We always chat about Canada. Maybe one day, I'll come to Canada to live."
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