Han Cong

Han Cong

Han at the 2010 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
Personal information
Full name 韩聪
Country represented  China
Born August 6, 1992 (1992-08-06) (age 19)[1] or March 1989[2] (see also Age controversy below)
Harbin, Heilongjiang
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Partner Sui Wenjing
Coach Luan Bo
Choreographer Zhang Wei
Skating club Harbin Training Center
World standing 5 (As of 16 June 2011 (2011 -06-16))[3]
Season's bests 7 (2010–2011)[4]
13 (2009–2010)[5]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 171.47
2010 Cup of China
Short program 60.94
2010 World Junior Championships
Free skate 111.89
2010 Cup of China
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Han.

Han Cong (simplified Chinese: 韩聪; traditional Chinese: 韓聰; pinyin: Hán Cōng; born August 6, 1992 in Harbin, Heilongjiang) is a Chinese pair skater. With partner Sui Wenjing, he is the 2010 World Junior champion, the 2009 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and the 2010 Chinese national champion.

Contents

Career

Sui/Han teamed up in 2007 without having previous pair skating experience. They both were inspired by 2010 Olympic Champions Shen Xue & Hongbo Zhao and started skating after watching them competing in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

They made their international debut in the 2009–2010 ISU Junior Grand Prix, where they placed 1st at their events. In the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final they placed 1st. They won the Chinese Figure Skating Championships and earned a trip to the 2010 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where they placed 1st. They became the second Chinese pair winning the World Junior Figure Skating Championships after Zhang Dan & Zhang Hao who won the title in 2001 and 2003.

In the 2010–2011 season, they won their first medal in the senior Grand Prix series, a silver medal at the 2010 Cup of China. At their second Grand Prix event, 2010 Skate America, they won a bronze medal. At the 2010-2011 Grand Prix Final in December 2010, Sui/Han scored 61.49 in the short program, setting a new personal best and a personal best of 117.55 points in the free skate to win a bronze medal with 179.04 overall.

Age controversy

In February 2011, Han's and his partner's ages became the subject of controversy. Although his ISU bio lists Han as born on August 6, 1992, a Chinese website suggests he was born in March 1989.[2] This would mean that during the 2010–11 season he is too old for junior events.[2] His partner's age also came under scrutiny. Her ISU bio states that she was born on July 18, 1995 but the Chinese website suggests she was born on May 7, 1997, making her 12 and thus, too young to compete in junior events during the 2009–10 season, including the 2010 World Junior Championships, as well as senior Grand Prix events during the 2010–11 season.[2]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2011–2012 Country Dance
by Josh Turner		 Flamenco
by Michael Laucke and
Manuel El Chachi Orchestra
2010–2011 Country Dance
by Josh Turner		 City Lights
by Charlie Chaplin		 Puppetry
2009–2010 Barynia
(Russian folk music)		 City Lights
by Charlie Chaplin

Competitive highlights

(with Sui)

Event 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
World Junior Championships 1st 1st
Asian Winter Games 2nd
Chinese Championships 4th 1st 1st 2nd
Grand Prix Final 3rd
Skate Canada 2nd
Cup of China 2nd 5th
Skate America 3rd
Junior Grand Prix Final 1st 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Latvia 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Austria 2nd 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Germany 1st 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Belarus 1st

References

  1. ^ Sui & Han at the International Skating Union
  2. ^ a b c d "China eyed over 9 athletes' ages". Associated Press (ESPN). February 14, 2011. http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/figureskating/news/story?id=6120559. Retrieved February 14, 2011. 
  3. ^ "ISU World Standings for Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance : Pairs". International Skating Union. June 16, 2011. http://www.isuresults.com/ws/ws/wspairs.htm. Retrieved June 17, 2011 2011. 
  4. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2010/2011 : Pairs". International Skating Union. May 6, 2011. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2010-11/sbtspto.htm. Retrieved June 17, 2011. 
  5. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2009/2010 : Pairs". International Skating Union. March 24, 2010. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2009-10/sbtspto.htm. Retrieved June 17, 2011. 
*Title stripped from Vera Bazarova & Yuri Larionov