5. Wenjing Sui/Cong Han CHN
2017 Four Continents free skate
It's tough to be a figure skating fan and not know the story behind Wenjing Sui/Cong Han's comeback last season. Over the past two seasons, they have been developing into the next legendary pair in figure skating. But Sui's surgery on both feet threatened to derail their trajectory. After they missed the entire fall of competitions, you wondered if they had the goods to make a successful return this quickly.
But come back they did, and as a more complete pair and more complete figure skaters. Their two programs were a phenomenal leap in choreographic range. In particular, their free skate was incredibly poignant, drawing on their journey back from potentially career-ending surgery.
Yes, they won their first World title with this free skate, but it really was this performance at Four Continents that was most impactful and emotional. First competition of their season - it was as if they never left.