Pang/Tong tweet their thanks

[dorispulaski]

Pang & Tong, We will miss you both. May you continue to have dreams to chase, and may you catch them.

 

[emma]

Thanks Pang and Tong for the many amazing memories! I will remember these Olympic programs along with many others you have skated for a very long time! All the best in the next stage of your life and may it be filled with many new dreams!

 

[rosacotton]

Their emotional Les Miz performance almost made me cry today. A beautiful ending to a long career.

 

[pitterpatter]

After their wedding Tong should go give Sui&Han dance lessons. He was formerly an ice dancer before he started pairs wasn't he?

If this is true, I can see him playing a role in helping China build up an ice dance program.

Congratulations to the both of them for a memorable and long lived career, their free program this season was one of my favourites.

 

[Skater Boy]

So happy for them but I think in honest truth they should have retired last olympics. Their injuries and such and I so much liked them with OSM and the long program of the games in vancouver - this was good but a bit of a let down and they have always been g racious, graceful and wonderful to watch but admittedly they stopped growing. I wish them well.

 

[mikiandorocks]

Great pair. They will surely be missed.

 

[Violet Bliss]

After their wedding Tong should go give Sui&Han dance lessons. He was formerly an ice dancer before he started pairs wasn't he?

He was very young and unsuccessful as was Pang - two teenagers who had lost their partners and got put together by Yao who then left them alone for 3 years while he trained S/Z in Beijing. They tried to get advice from others' coaches and they fought badly and constantly with each other. They met up with their coach once and learned a double jump. They copied others' choreography and they always came in last in every competition. Eventually Yao was able to bring them to Beijing to train. Then they came in dead last again. Totally discouraged, they took a walk in a quite street, thinking of quitting. They started talking and ended up crying their hearts out. Thinking back of all the hard times they had, they decided to stay on.

When Tong was thinking of courting Pang, he consulted their coach and Yao told him she was the only one in the world who would truly understand him.

They stayed on to compete this season to get China 3 Olympic spots because S/Z had retired and Zhang had a new partner. They are ready to pass the torch.

I wish them the best and all the happiness they deserve.

 

[BlackPack]

I rarely have tears in my eyes over skating... aside from a few exceptions, i.e. Irina's win in 2005.

P&T, just thank you. I hope you continue to coach the next generation of Chinese skaters. You definitely deserved the bronze, no doubt.

I don't think S&S should have been 136 something in the FS, which is only a few tenths below P&T. Sure, they had a big lead over everyone else except V&T in the SP. But they didn't deserve such high points given two falls on 2 key elements. P&T had a very minor error on the SBS and that's it. Otherwise, emotional and beautiful. People who know skating know they are survivors and champions.

 

[hippomoomin]

After their wedding Tong should go give Sui&Han dance lessons. He was formerly an ice dancer before he started pairs wasn't he?

I think S/H can dance very well, maybe not the reserved kind of dance

 

[Becki]

I rarely have tears in my eyes over skating... aside from a few exceptions, i.e. Irina's win in 2005.

P&T, just thank you. I hope you continue to coach the next generation of Chinese skaters. You definitely deserved the bronze, no doubt.

I don't think S&S should have been 136 something in the FS, which is only a few tenths below P&T. Sure, they had a big lead over everyone else except V&T in the SP. But they didn't deserve such high points given two falls on 2 key elements. P&T had a very minor error on the SBS and that's it. Otherwise, emotional and beautiful. People who know skating know they are survivors and champions.

Yes, P/T performance was the only one that touched me. No other performance came close, but I only watched the last two groups.

V/T's performance left me cold. It wasn't even as technically impressive as their previous ones. But they did deliver under the tremendous pressure so I give them props.

Edit: Okay, S/S' story touched me. Attempting the 3ATh at the end was impressive and admirable.

 

[hippomoomin]

He was very young and unsuccessful as was Pang - two teenagers who had lost their partners and got put together by Yao who then left them alone for 3 years while he trained S/Z in Beijing. They tried to get advice from others' coaches and they fought badly and constantly with each other. They met up with their coach once and learned a double jump. They copied others' choreography and they always came in last in every competition. Eventually Yao was able to bring them to Beijing to train. Then they came in dead last again. Totally discouraged, they took a walk in a quite street, thinking of quitting. They started talking and ended up crying their hearts out. Thinking back of all the hard times they had, they decided to stay on.

When Tong was thinking of courting Pang, he consulted their coach and Yao told him she was the only one in the world who would truly understand him.

They stayed on to compete this season to get China 3 Olympic spots because S/Z had retired and Zhang had a new partner. They are ready to pass the torch.

I wish them the best and all the happiness they deserve.

Wow, this side story is very touching. When you think when they were in the early teens, they probably didn't have a proper place to train in China, what they have accomplished is truly amazing.

 

[age20]

I hope they can catch a dream of coaching some couples of Olympic champions.

 

[amateur]

Congratulations to them on a great career, and attaining such a high level of performance quality.

Their SP was my favourite program of the entire pairs competition.

 

[gourry]

Their Les Mis LP performance today was absolutely beautiful and I felt lump in my throat just as I did in 2010 after their Impossible Dream LP performance. Both times they were the show stopper for me.
I wish the best for their future! <3

 

[Ziggy]

He was very young and unsuccessful as was Pang - two teenagers who had lost their partners and got put together by Yao who then left them alone for 3 years while he trained S/Z in Beijing. They tried to get advice from others' coaches and they fought badly and constantly with each other. They met up with their coach once and learned a double jump. They copied others' choreography and they always came in last in every competition. Eventually Yao was able to bring them to Beijing to train. Then they came in dead last again. Totally discouraged, they took a walk in a quite street, thinking of quitting. They started talking and ended up crying their hearts out. Thinking back of all the hard times they had, they decided to stay on.

When Tong was thinking of courting Pang, he consulted their coach and Yao told him she was the only one in the world who would truly understand him.

They stayed on to compete this season to get China 3 Olympic spots because S/Z had retired and Zhang had a new partner. They are ready to pass the torch.

I wish them the best and all the happiness they deserve.

Thank you for sharing this story.

 

[GF2445]

Thankyou Pang and Tong for you have done for Pairs Skating. They have pushed Pairs to new heights. The general quality of Pairs Skating from 1st to last has lifted and i, to a great extent thank the great Chinese Pairs for this, Shen/Zhao, Zhang/Zhang and now Pang/Tong.

They have been there for the Chinese Pairs Domination since the beginning and have kept going, delivering programs that I will remember. No matter if it was 6.0 or IJS, they delievered. They were able to connect with eachother and the audience in a way that not even the technical perfection of this years Olympic Gold Medallists can give.

They have also given back so much as China's pairs legacy will continue with the likes of Sui/Han, Peng/Zhao and more!

We will miss you but we will NEVER forget you!
BRAVO!!:yay::yay:

 

[iluvtodd]

A beautiful team! Will miss them so much!

 

[Rachmaninoff]

I do admire them for their longevity, the great improvements they made in presentation, their memorable performances, and their rise to the world/Olympic podium after it seemed they'd always be also-rans. Congratulations and best wishes to them.

One final

 

[qwertyskates]

He was very young and unsuccessful as was Pang - two teenagers who had lost their partners and got put together by Yao who then left them alone for 3 years while he trained S/Z in Beijing. They tried to get advice from others' coaches and they fought badly and constantly with each other. They met up with their coach once and learned a double jump. They copied others' choreography and they always came in last in every competition. Eventually Yao was able to bring them to Beijing to train. Then they came in dead last again. Totally discouraged, they took a walk in a quite street, thinking of quitting. They started talking and ended up crying their hearts out. Thinking back of all the hard times they had, they decided to stay on.

When Tong was thinking of courting Pang, he consulted their coach and Yao told him she was the only one in the world who would truly understand him.

They stayed on to compete this season to get China 3 Olympic spots because S/Z had retired and Zhang had a new partner. They are ready to pass the torch.

I wish them the best and all the happiness they deserve.

Oh wow, this is a very touching story of their journey, imagine skating the best Olympic FS after the years of tears and being on their own to wonder if they were risking it all for nought.

 

[Kitt]

So happy and priviledged I got to see them at TEB this year; the class of the competition. I loved their Les Miz - cried when I saw it again last night, and I will never forget their Pearl Fishers program.

All the best to this lovely couple in the future!