The ultimate determine skating competitors of the Beijing Olympics is underway, as 18 pairs take to the ice for the brief program, a two-minute skate.

Not like the ice dancing competitors that happened earlier within the Video games, pairs determine skating prioritizes extra acrobatic expertise: jumps, overhead lifts and throws.

Friday’s competitors contains performances by the rival pairs Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov of Russia, the reigning world champions, and Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China, who received world titles in 2017 and 2019.

Sui and Han are particularly anticipating redemption. That they had the gold inside their grasp on the 2018 Olympics, however misplaced by a mere 0.43 factors to the German staff.

The pairs will skate the lengthy program, additionally known as the free skate, on Saturday. Medal winners can be decided by including the scores from the 2 occasions.