Cheng Peng/Yang Jin CHN
2018 World Championships short program
It was agonizing. In a jam-packed pairs field at the Olympics, in their first Olympics as a pair, they had a fall in their side-by-side and finished 17th with 16 pairs qualifying for the free skate. Just like that, Cheng Peng/Yang Jin’s Olympics was over by a half-point.
And so it was telling when they entered the World Championships and returned to their playful, infectious short program from the season before. It was comfortable for them; they knew how to sell that program without overthinking it. And it worked like a charm in Milano, grabbing sixth place in the short program in the Worlds debut.
Like Hawayek/Baker’s free dance on the countdown, this Peng/Jin program made an appearance on last year’s countdown as well. Enjoy it again.