Beijing (AFP) - China's Han Cong and Sui Wenjing won Olympic gold in pairs figure skating on an "unforgettable" Saturday night in Beijing where they broke yet another world record to the delight of a screaming home crowd.
Spinning around the rink to "Bridge Over Troubled Water", they scored 239.88 in total to beat Russia's Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov by a whisker -- 0.63 points.
Han and Sui's score was also just clear of the previous world record of 239.82 -- which had been held by the bronze medallists, Russia's Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov.
It is the third time the Chinese pair have broken a world record this Games, soaring through their mission to bring home their first Olympic title.
The two-time former world champions did it with style, landing a rare quadruple twist -- an overhead throw which no other competitors attempted -- to seal victory on home ice.
"I think this is an unforgettable night," said Han."We realised our dreams in our homeland."
They first performed to the Simon and Garfunkel song when Sui returned from serious injury in 2017, and won the world championship with it.
Before they went on the ice, Sui said she had told Han: "We can do this.
"'Bridge Over Troubled Water' brought us our first gold medal...We have created many miracles and today we are going to do the same."
Sui and Han have been skating together since they were teenagers.
"People had doubts about us because our heights are relatively similar," Sui said.
"When people say something is a dead end, don't be afraid -– blaze your own path."
Close finish
Such was the confidence in Sui and Han's ability to win in Beijing that the pairs event was made the final of the four figure skating disciplines for the first time since 1956.
Their gold was China's ninth of the Games, meaning the hosts have moved up the medal table ahead of the United States.
Dressed in blue and silver and with pearls in her hair, Sui made an uncharacteristic mistake early on but it was not enough to detract from the rest of their powerful, cleanly executed programme.
Finishing the song in Han's arms, Sui began to cry.
After a long hug, they skated off the ice and waited to learn if they had done enough.
They had -- and the Capital Indoor Stadium, as packed as it has been throughout this competition, erupted in cheers and billowing Chinese flags.
Tarasova and Morozov gave them a good run for their money with their graceful skate, with Morozov falling to his knees on the ice as the music ended.
"When we did the end pose, we breathed out and understood that that's it.That's it, everything worked.The emotions swept over us," he said.
Mishina and Galliamov, the reigning world and European champions, were not far behind.
In grey and silver, they flitted across the ice like shadows to "The Snowstorm", scoring a total of 237.71.
Emotions all round
The top three were not the only ones overcome by emotion.
Japan's Ryuichi Kihara and Riku Miura also both fell to their knees at the end of their performance, with Miura in tears.
Their coach was unable to conceal his excitement during their skate, as he jumped up and down pumping his fists, looking more like a football manager than a figure skating trainer.
With much of the competition overshadowed by the doping scandal involving 15-year-old Russian Kamila Valieva, there was a palpable relief to be focussing purely on the sport again.
The athletes' stand was packed with rowdy Olympians supporting their teammates, with singles skater Keegan Messing running up and down the stands repeatedly with an enormous Canadian flag.
Even some who didn't have the night they wanted -- like Timothy LeDuc, the first openly non-binary Winter Olympian, and partner Ashley Cain-Gribble, who was injured -- were happy to be there.
"I know it's not the right athlete answer to say when I say results don't matter so much," LeDuc said."But being here, being part of this, was the goal, and we got to do that."
