Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang CHN
2018 Olympics short program
They have had moments of brilliance in the two seasons they have been skating together. Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang was a pairing engineered by the Chinese federation, with both of them having skated with different partners before (in fact, see #47 on the Top 50). Their pairing has brought out the best in both skaters, and nowhere was it more apparent than in their short program this season.
Yu is one of the most exquisite pair skaters out there - she understands her line and the shapes she makes, and she has a regal quality about her skating that is unteachable. Zhang, with his decades of pairs experience, has mastered his skating as the support structure for his partners. And the two of them together have created some magnificent skating.
In PyeongChang, they put down their best work to date with this short program, finishing fifth before struggling in the free skate. But this skate shows exactly the kind of programs they are capable of.