HALIFAX, Canada, 31 October 2004 — China’s two-time world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo won the pairs title here on Friday at Skate Canada, second stop on the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix.
Shen and Zhao led after the short program and also won Friday’s free skate to top the final standings with 190.2 points under the new scoring system in use this year in the Grand Prix series.
Fellow Chinese Qing Pang and Jian Tong could manage only fourth in the free skate but held on for the silver medal ahead of Poland’s Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek.
In the only other event on the program on Friday, Canadian Cynthia Phaneuf delighted the home crowd with the top performance in the women’s short program.
Japan’s Fumie Suguri was second ahead of compatriot Yoshie Onda.
Phaneuf, 16, arrived at Skate Canada fresh from a silver medal performance at Skate Canada, the opening Grand Prix of the year and didn’t disappoint.
Suguri was second despite a fall early in her program and said she was satisfied considering it was her first competition of the season.
