In 2016, an independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed allegations that the Russian Olympic team had been involved in a state-sponsored doping program, active from at least late 2011 through August 2015.[2] On 9 December 2019, the WADA banned Russia from all international competitions after it found that data provided by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities in order to protect athletes involved in its doping scheme.[3] Under a ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to present themselves as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships until 16 December 2022.[4] On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russian athletes would compete under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[5]
The top sixteen couples after completion of the short program component moved on to the free skating component, which were performed on 19 February.[1] The free skate performance could last no more than 4 minutes,[12] and had to include the following: three pair lifts, of which one had to be a twist lift; two different throw jumps; one solo jump; one jump combination or sequence; one pair spin combination; one death spiral; and a choreographic sequence.[13]
For the 2021–2022 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance–such as jumps, spins, and lifts–were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[14] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, the average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score.[15] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components–skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music–and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments.[16] The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[17]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[19] The total elements score and program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[20]
The pairs' short program was held on 18 February. Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China broke their own world record in the pairs' short program, the record they had set earlier in the Olympics during the team event. Their score of 84.41 gave Sui and Han a very slim lead over Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia.[23] Their performance included a "perfect" triple toe loop and a throw triple twist, and they received level 4 marks (the highest marks possible) on all of their elements. "We are very happy, but it was never about a world record," Sui stated afterward. "Only joy on the ice at home."[21] Tarasova and Morozov were followed by Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov of Russia, and Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii, also of Russia; placing the Russian teams in three of the top four positions.[23]Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the United States, who had been forced to withdraw from the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships after Frazier contracted COVID-19, were "nearly perfect".[21] "We’ve trained so hard to endure whatever is brought to us," Knierim said, “and I feel like today we did a good job of staying focused, no matter how we felt, and just delivered the best we could."[21]Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc, also of the United States, finished only one-tenth of a point behind Knierim and Frazier.[21]Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nolan Seegert of Germany, who were forced to withdraw from the team event after Seegert tested positive for COVID-19, were finally able to compete after missing ten days of practice. However, Ioulia Chtchetinina and Márk Magyar of Hungary withdrew from the competition prior to the short program after Magyar tested positive for COVID-19.[23]
The pairs' free skating was held on 19 February. Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China finished first in the free skate, winning the gold medals, finding redemption from their silver medal finish in the 2018 Winter Olympics. They ultimately finished 0.63 points ahead of Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia, and began crying tears of joy when their scores were posted. "I’m so happy," Sui said afterward, "that I feel that my dream has come true."[22] Sui and Han's performance featured the only quadruple twist lift of the competition. "We’ve been thinking about the quadruple twist for a long time, every since [the 2018 Olympics in] PyeongChang," Sui explained. "We thought with the quadruple twist, we can get more [points]; it’s our killer move. After all, the Olympic spirit is faster, higher, stronger so for us... we wanted to showcase our best program and always want to pursue the highest level of the Olympic spirit."[25] Sui and Han cited Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo – the Chinese pairs skaters who won the bronze medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics – as a source of inspiration. Shen and Zhao followed their 2002 bronze medals with bronze medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics and finally gold medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Shen and Zhao were married in the Capital Indoor Stadium, where the 2026 Olympic figure skating events were contested. Sui said that she had begun skating after watching Shen and Zhao win in 2010. Han described his gold medal with Sui as "indeed a legacy from [Shen and Zhao]".[25]
As teams competed in reverse order of how they finished in the short program, Sui and Han performed last, preceded by the three Russian teams who were in second, third, and fourth place, respectively. Each Russian team took the lead, only to cede it to the next Russian team.[22] Ultimately, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov finished in second place, Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov finished in third place, and Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii finished in fourth.[25]
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