The 2022 Beijing Olympics Pairs figure skating events take place on the 18th and 19th of February. The short program on the 18th and free skate on the 19th.
Nineteen teams from thirteen countries are scheduled to take part in the event. Here we will introduce all of the competitors.
Austria
Miriam Ziegler & Severin Kiefer
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 67.90 | All I Want by Kodaline arranged by Maxime Rodriguez |
| 123.96 | Broken by Patrick Watson arranged by Maxime Rodriguez / Another Love by Tom Odell |
| 187.01 |
Miriam Ziegler (27) and Severin Kiefer (31) represent Austria. They competed at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics, placing 17th and 20th respectively. This is the 9th season of their partnership and the two plan to retire at the end of this season. Together they are 7-time National champions. This will actually be Ziegler’s 4th Olympics, as she competed in 2010 as a singles skater, placing 26th. They had to withdraw from two competitions this season due to injury. Ziegler and Kiefer are a couple.
Canada
Vanessa James & Eric Radford
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 71.84 | Shiny Happy People performed by Ruben and The Dark & AG / Daydreamers by Karl Hugo |
| 130.83 | Falling by Harry Styles / Maselstrom by Karl Hugo |
| 196.34 |
Vanessa James (34) and Eric Radford (37) represent Canada. This will be James’ 4th Olympics and Radford’s 3rd, but their first as a team. James previously partnered with Morgan Ciprès and Yannick Bonheur representing France. James’ and Ciprès’ retirement was announced in September 2020 following abuse allegations of Ciprès sending an explicit photo to a teenage girl at the rink they trained at prior to the 2018 Olympics. Radford retired following the Pyeongchang Olympics, having won team event gold and individual bronze with former partner Meagan Duhamel. He is the first openly gay man to have won gold at the Winter Olympics. Both skaters competed on Battle of the Blades and began to pursue a partnership, this was announced less than 10 months out from the 2022 Olympics.
Kirsten Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 76.36 | Hold on Tight by Forest Black |
| 138.59 | Carry You by Ruelle (feat. Fleurie) |
| 211.05 |
Kirsten Moore-Towers (29) and Michael Marinaro (30) represent Canada. They placed 11th at the 2018 Olympics. The two are 3-time Canadian National champions and have been in the top 10 at Worlds 4 times. They are Four Continents silver and bronze medalists. Moore-Towers previously competed at the 2014 Olympics with former partner Dylan Moscovitch, placing 5th. Moore-Towers is obsessed with dogs and is in a relationship with retired skater Liam Firus. Marinaro is an avid disc golfer with training mate Trennt Michaud, the two also run a podcast called the Ice Lab Podcast together. Moore-Towers and Marinaro plan to retire at the end of this season.
China
Cheng Peng & Yang Jin
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 76.71 | Piano & I: Moonlight Sonata by L. v. Beethoven / No One by Alicia Keys |
| 141.21 | The Banquet (soundtrack) by Tan Dun |
| 216.90 |
Cheng Peng (24) and Yang Jin (27) represent China. They placed 17th in the 2018 Olympics. Their partnership was formed in 2016 when the Chinese federation orchestrated a partner switch with another team. With her former partner Peng placed 8th at the 2014 Olympics. They are silver and bronze Four Continents medalists and two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalists. Peng and Jin are 3-time National champions. At 2021 Worlds, Peng’s dress zipper broke during a fall at the beginning of the program, Peng was able to remain composed despite the issue even though her dress was open at the side for most of their performance.
Wenjing Sui & Cong Han
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 81.27 | Mission Impossible 2 Orchestra Suite: Part 1 by Hans Zimmer |
| 155.60 | Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon, performed by Lina Eder / John Legend |
| 234.84 |
Wenjing Sui (26) and Cong Han (29) represent China. They are the 2018 Olympic silver medalists, two-time World Champions, and 6-time Four Continents champions. They have been partners for 15 years. The two have struggled with injuries over their career, but have always said there would never be a partner for them besides one another. Sui and Han have been doing a quadruple twist in training prior to the Olympics to boost their scoring potential, an element no pairs team has done this quad due to it no longer being worth enough points value vs the risk of executing it well.
Czech Republic
Jelizaveta Žuková & Martin Bidař
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 60.88 | Boom Boom by 2WEI, Jon, Bri Bryant |
| 105.33 | So Far by Olafur Arnalds ft. Arnor Dan |
| 159.73 |
Jelizaveta Žuková (18) and Martin Bidař (22) represent the Czech Republic, although Žuková was born in and previously represented Russia. The team paired up in the summer of 2019, but couldn’t compete internationally until autumn 2020 as they had to wait for Žuková’s release from the Russian Federation. Bidař was Junior World Champion with his former partner Anna Dušková, and they placed 14th at the Pyeongchang Olympics. The team are coached by Bidař’s older brother Petr, who also used to compete. They earned their Olympic spot placing 15th at the 2021 World Championships.
Georgia
Karina Safina & Luka Berulava
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 66.95 | Moonlight by Viper |
| 122.12 | In This Shirt by The Irrepressibles |
| 184.05 |
Karina Safina (17) and Luka Berulava (19) represent Georgia. They teamed up in early 2021 and both skaters were born in Russia. Berulava is the Youth Olympic bronze (individual) and gold (team) medalist with his former partner Alina Butaeva. Safina and Berulava are the first Georgian pairs team to win a Junior Grand Prix medal and they earned the country a spot by placing 3rd at Nebelhorn Trophy. After placing 4th at Europeans, the Georgian federation chose them for the Olympic team.
Germany
Minerva Fabienne Hase & Nolan Seegert
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 70.43 | You Are the Reason (Duet Version) by Calcum Scott, Leona Lewis |
| 123.18 | People Help The People by Birdy |
| 188.37 |
Minerva Fabienne Hase (22) and Nolan Seegert (29) represent Germany. They have been partners for 8 seasons and are 3-time National champions. The team were unable to compete at 2021 Worlds due to Hase suffering an accident in training, she required ligament surgery and was off the ice until the summer. This season they have relocated most of their training to Russia under Dmitri Savin. Seegert’s former partner Vanessa Bauer is a Dancing On Ice professional.
Hungary
Ioulia Chtchetinina & Márk Magyar
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 63.99 | Can't Pretend by Tom Odell |
| 111.81 | Dust In The Wind by Kerry Livgren, perf. by Kansas |
| 175.80 |
Ioulia Chtchetinina (26) and Márk Magyar (31) represent Hungary. His partnership with Chtchetinina is his 6th but this will be his first Olympic appearance. Chtchetinina was born in Russia but spent most of her career representing Switzerland until her partnership with Magyar. Together they are 3-time Hungarian National champions and earned their Olympic spot placing 14th at Worlds. Magyar has a son called Márk Jr.
Israel
Hailey Kops & Evgeni Krasnopolski
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 56.54 | Torn by Nathan Lanier / Heart Cry by Drehz |
| 111.50 | The Impossible Dream performed by Josh Groban |
| 167.08 |
Hailey Kops (19) and Evgeni Krasnopolski (33) represent Israel. Kops is his 7th skating partner, and this will be his 3rd Olympics. Kops previously retired from skating but came out of retirement last summer when Krasnopolski was searching for a new partner. They qualified an Olympic spot placing 5th at Nebelhorn Trophy only a few months into their partnership. Krasnopolski will be the flag bearer for Israel in the Olympic opening ceremony.
Italy
Nicole Della Monica & Matteo Guarise
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 73.70 | Let It Be from Across The Universe (soundtrack) |
| 131.51 | Moulin Rouge (soundtrack) |
| 205.14 |
Nicole Della Monica (32) and Matteo Guarise (33) represent Italy. They have been partners for 11 seasons. This will be their 3rd Olympics as a team and Della Monica’s 4th, having placed 12th in the 2010 Olympics with her former partner Yannick Kocon. Della Monica and Guarise are 7-time National champions and have appeared at 9 World championships. Guarise is the 2008 World champion in pairs roller skating. Della Monica plans to retire at the end of the season, Guarise has implied that he would like to continue competing.
Rebecca Ghilardi & Filippo Ambrosini
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 64.60 | Mambo Italiano performed by Bette Midler, Luca Longobardi |
| 116.14 | Grande Amore by Il Volo / Letters by Abel Korzeniowski |
| 178.90 |
Rebecca Ghilardi (22) and Filipino Ambrosini (28) represent Italy. This is their 6th season as partners. This has been the most successful year of their partnership so far, with two 5th places on the Grand Prix and a 5th place at Europeans. They are 4-time Italian silver medalists. Ghilardi is good friends with training mate and Spanish pairs skater Laura Barquero. They placed 17th at Worlds contributing to two spots for the country with Della Monica/Guarise.
Japan
Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 73.98 | Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, performed by Kathryn Dawn Lang |
| 135.57 | Woman by Shawn Phillips |
| 209.42 |
Riku Miura (20) and Ryuichi Kihara (29) represent Japan. The two became partners in 2019 after both of their prior partnerships dissolved. Kihara has appeared at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics with his former partners, placing 18th and 21st respectively. They train in Canada under Bruno Marcotte. Miura and Kihara placed 10th at Worlds, meaning there could’ve been a second potential spot for Japan to be earned at the Olympics, but no other pairs teams were ready to compete for the spot. They won a silver and bronze medal on the Grand Prix this season, earning a spot in the Grand Prix Final before it was cancelled. Miura/Kihara could be a dark horse in the medal race at the Olympics.
ROC (Russian Olympic Committee)
Aleksandra Boikova & Dmitrii Kozlovskii
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 82.34 | Swan Lake by Petr I. Tchaikovski |
| 152.24 | Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona |
| 234.58 |
Aleksandra Boikova (20) and Dmitrii Kozlovskii (22) represent ROC (Russian Olympic Committee). They are 2020 European champions, 2021 World bronze medalists, and 2017 Junior World silver medalists. The two have been partners since November 2015. They were National champions in 2020. They are good friends with Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva. They are coached by legendary Russian pairs coach, Tamara Moskvina.
Anastasia Mishina & Aleksandr Galliamov
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 82.36 | Variations on the ballet Esmeralda by Cesare Pugni, arranged by Alexander Goldshtein |
| 157.46 | The Snowstorm / The Snowstorm (The Vocal Octet) by Georgi Sviridov performed by Valeria Staroverova / Time, Forward! by Georgi Sviridov |
| 239.82 |
Anastasia Mishina (20) and Aleksandr Galliamov (22) represent ROC. The two are reigning World and European champions. They’re also Junior World champions from 2019. They currently hold the World Record for short, free, and combined total score. In 2020 they also moved to be coached by Tamara Moskvina, creating a somewhat tense internal battle between them and rivals Boikova/Kozlovskii. Mishina and Galliamov were the first pairs team to win gold in their Worlds debut since Gordeeva/Grinkov in 1986.
Evgenia Tarasova & Vladimir Morozov
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 81.58 | Metamorphosis Two by Philip Glass / Experience by Ludovico Einaudi |
| 154.85 | Lighthouse by Patrick Watson |
| 236.43 |
Evgenia Tarasova (27) and Vladimir Morozov (29) represent ROC. They’ve been partners for 10 years. Tarasova and Morozov were 4th in the 2018 Olympics, but were silver medalists in the team event. They are two-time World silver medalists and two-time European champions. They also won the Grand Prix Final in 2016 and are 3-time National champions. Tarasova and Morozov’s twist is regarded as one of the best in the world. Singles coach Eteri Tutberidze joined their coaching team for this season after some stagnation and lacklustre results over the past two years. Despite this change, they still have some issues delivering clean programs.
Spain
Laura Barquero & Marco Zandron
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 65.33 | Dawn of Faith by Eternal Eclipse |
| 124.66 | Awakening by Andy Quin / Imagine by John Lennon performed by Boyce Avenue / David Arnold and The Royal Philharmonic Pop Orchestra |
| 189.99 |
Laura Barquero (20) and Marco Zandron (23) represent Spain. The two announced their partnership in December 2020, and debuted internationally this season. This is Barquero’s third partnership and Zandron’s second. They earned their Olympic spot by placing 2nd at Nebelhorn Trophy, and will be the first pair team to represent Spain at the Olympics. Zandron previously represented Italy and got his Spanish citizenship in December. The two are also a couple.
USA
Ashley Cain-Gribble & Timothy LeDuc
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 76.23 | The White Crow (soundtrack) by Ilan Eshkeri, performed by Lisa Batiashvili |
| 132.04 | W.E. (soundtrack) by Abel Korzeniowski |
| 205.58 |
Ashley Cain-Gribble (26) and Timothy LeDuc (31) represent the USA. They have been partners for 6 seasons and are coached by Cain-Gribble’s parents Peter and Darlene Cain. Peter Cain competed in the 1980 Olympics representing Australia. At the Golden Spin of Zagreb in 2018, Cain-Gribble fell on her head in the exit of a lift and seemingly lost consciousness before getting up and continuing, something the referee should’ve stopped. Despite receiving a concussion, she recovered quickly and the next month they won their first National title. Timothy LeDuc will be the first out non-binary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics, and uses they/them pronouns
Alexa Knierim & Brandon Frazier
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 70.15 | House of The Rising Sun by Heavy Young Heathens |
| 136.60 | Fix You by Fearless Soul, Coldplay / Redemption Through Love by Karl Hugo |
| 202.97 |
Alexa Knierim (30) and Brandon Frazier (29) represent the USA. The two teamed up in April 2020 after Frazier’s partnership with Haven Denney ended and Knierim’s former partner, her husband, retired. The Knierims’ were 15th at the 2018 Olympics. Alexa’s husband is now part of their coaching team. The two became National champions in their first season together, but had to withdraw from Nationals this season due to Frazier testing positive for coronavirus. Their body of work assured them of a spot at the Olympics. They train in California amongst some of their closest competitors.
Bonus: Team event
The pairs team event takes place on February 4th and 7th. One pair team will take part in the team event and not the individual event.
Ukraine
Sofiia Holichenko & Artem Darenskyi
| ISU Personal Best Scores (Short/Free/Total) | Music (Short/Free) |
|---|---|
| 55.15 | Pina (soundtrack) |
| 92.46 | Men in Black 3 (soundtrack) by Danny Elfman |
| 147.61 |
Sofiia Holichenko (17) and Artem Darenskyi (20) represent Ukraine. They failed to qualify a spot for the Olympics, missing Worlds due to positive coronavirus tests and only placed 11th at Nebelhorn Trophy. However, as spots for Ukraine were earned in women’s, men’s, and ice dance, the country was able to gain an additional athlete quota to have a pair compete only in the team event. They are the current National champions. Holichenko is Darenskyi’s 3rd partner, and Darenskyi is Holichenko’s 2nd.
