Zhang Hao (figure skater)

Zhang Hao
Peng and Zhang at the 2015-16 Grand Prix Final.
Personal information
Full name	Zhang Hao
Country represented	China
Born	(1984-07-06) July 6, 1984[1] or (1982-02-06) February 6, 1982[2] (see also Age controversy below) Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Partner	Yu Xiaoyu
Former partner	Peng Cheng Zhang Dan Zhang Liyun
Coach	Yao Bin, Hongbo Zhao, Bing Han
Former coach	Huan Bing, Sun Lu, Chen Xiaofei
Choreographer	Lori Nichol
Former choreographer	Marina Zueva, Igor Shpilband, Renée Roca
Skating club	Harbin Skating Club
Began skating	1990
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	201.45 2015 Four Continents
Short program	72.49 2016 Cup of China
Free skate	131.64 2015 Four Continents
Medal record Figure skating: Pairs Representing  China Olympic Games 2006 Turin Pairs World Championships 2006 Calgary Pairs 2008 Gothenburg Pairs 2009 Los Angeles Pairs 2005 Moscow Pairs Four Continents Championships 2005 Gangneung Pairs 2010 Jeonju Pairs 2004 Hamilton Pairs 2008 Goyang Pairs 2015 Seoul Pairs 2002 Jeonju Pairs 2003 Beijing Pairs 2009 Vancouver Pairs Grand Prix Final 2005–2006 Tokyo Pairs 2007–2008 Turin Pairs 2008–2009 Goyang Pairs 2006–2007 St. Petersburg Pairs World Junior Championships 2001 Sofia Pairs 2003 Ostrava Pairs Junior Grand Prix Final 2000–2001 Ayr Pairs 2001–2002 Bled Pairs

Zhang Hao (simplified Chinese: 张昊; traditional Chinese: 張昊; pinyin: Zhāng Hào; born July 6, 1984) is a Chinese pair skater. He currently competes with Yu Xiaoyu. With former partner Peng Cheng, he is the 2015 Four Continents silver medalist. With former partner Zhang Dan, he is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a four-time (2005 bronze, 2006, 2008, 2009 silver) World medalist, and a two-time (2005, 2010) Four Continents champion.

Personal life

Zhang married his girlfriend, Ju Chi, in May 2014.^[3] On May 8, 2015, the couple welcomed their first child, a son.^[4][5]

Career

Early in his career, Zhang Hao competed with Zhang Liyun.

Partnership with Zhang Dan

Zhang teamed up with Zhang Dan, to whom he is not related, in 1997. In 1998–99 Junior Grand Prix (JGP), the pair competed in one event and won the gold medal. They continued the season with a bronze medal at the 1999 Chinese National Championships. The following season, they competed in two 1999–2000 JGP events, medaling in both. They qualified for the final, where they finished fifth. That year, they were second at nationals and finished fourth at Junior Worlds.

The following three seasons, they were very successful at the junior level. They won all their Junior Grand Prix events, including the 2000–01 JGP Final and the 2001–02 JGP Final. They also competed in the 2001 Junior Worlds and the 2003 Junior Worlds, winning gold both times. At the Chinese National Championships, they placed third in both 2001 and 2002, before winning their first national title in 2003.

Their first senior international was the 2002 Four Continents Championships, where they won the bronze medal. The same season they competed in the 2002 Olympics, placing 11th, and the 2002 Worlds, placing 9th. The following season they competed in their first two senior Grand Prix events, placing fourth at both events. They repeated with a bronze medal at the 2003 Four Continents Championships and improved their placement at the 2003 Worlds, finishing sixth. In the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, they consistently medaled at their Grand Prix events. They won gold at the 2005 Four Continents Championships and bronze at the 2005 Worlds.

Zhang and Zhang went into the 2006 Olympics as medal contenders. During their free skate, Zhang Dan had a bad fall on their attempted throw quadruple salchow, a jump that was not consistent. Zhang Dan suffered a bad injury, but chose to finish the program. Although the delay between the fall and the continuation of the program was longer than the ISU-proscribed 2 minutes, they were not automatically withdrawn because the referee waited before stopping the music and beginning the official 2 minute wait. Zhang regrouped and was able to finish the program. They won the silver medal, placing ahead of defending Olympic medalists Shen Xue and Hongbo Zhao. At Worlds they won the silver, behind Pang Qing and Tong Jian.

In the 2006–07 season, Zhang and Zhang placed first at Skate Canada, second at the NHK Trophy, and would go on to win the bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final. They placed 5th at the 2007 World Championships later that season. In the 2007–08 and the 2008–09 seasons, they won silver medals at both the Grand Prix Final and the World Championships. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Zhangs placed 5th. They also finished fifth at 2010 World Championships.

Before the 2010–11 season began, Zhang Hao broke his finger, forcing the team to pull out of their two Grand Prix assignments. He also dealt with some shoulder and cervical vertebra problems.^[6] The Zhangs returned to competition during the 2011–12 season, winning silver medals at the 2011 Skate America and the 2011 Cup of China. They finished 4th at the 2011–12 Grand Prix Final. Zhang Dan eventually became the tallest competing female pair skater.^[6] Her height proved to be a challenge for the pair, and in May 2012, it was announced that their partnership had ended and she was retiring from competition.^[7][8]

Partnership with Peng Cheng

In May 2012, Zhang Hao confirmed he had formed a new partnership with Peng Cheng.^[7][8] The pair made their international debut at the 2012 Cup of China. They placed 11th at their first World Championships.

In the 2013–14 season, Peng/Zhang won their first Grand Prix medals, bronze at the 2013 Cup of China and silver at the 2013 NHK Trophy, and qualified for the Grand Prix Final, where they came in fourth. They were selected for the 2014 Winter Olympics and finished eighth in Sochi. Ending their season, they placed fifth at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama.

For the 2014–15 Grand Prix season, Peng/Zhang were assigned to Skate America and Cup of China,^[9] where they placed 3rd and 1st, respectively, qualifying for the 2015 Grand Prix Final. They finished 4th at that competition after placing 5th in the short program and 3rd in the free skate. They won the silver medal at the 2015 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. At the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships, they earned personal best scores in the free skate and combined total to finish in 4th place overall.

Partnership with Yu Xiaoyu

On April 14, 2016, International Figure Skating magazine broke the news of Zhang's new partnership with Yu Xiaoyu. The Chinese Skating Association decided to switch partners between the two pairs of Peng/Zhang and Yu/Jin.^[10][11]

Age controversy

Zhang and Zhang perform a triple twist

On February 14, 2011, the Zhangs' ages became the subject of controversy. Although his International Skating Union bio lists Zhang Hao as born on July 6, 1984, a Chinese skating association website suggested he was born on February 6, 1982.^[2] This would mean he was too old to compete in junior events during the 2002–03 season, such as the 2003 World Junior Championships where they won gold. His partner's age also came under scrutiny. Her ISU bio states that she was born on October 4, 1985 but the Chinese website suggested she was born on that day in 1987, meaning she was 14 and too young to compete in senior events during the 2001–02 season, such as the Four Continents where they won bronze, as well as the Olympics and World Championships.^[2] The dates disappeared from the website by February 15.^[12] On February 17, the ISU said there were no discrepancies for the Zhangs in terms of the birthdates listed on their passports, ISU registration forms and the Chinese Olympic Committee's website.^[12]

Programs

With Peng Cheng

With Zhang Dan

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Yu Xiaoyu

With Peng Cheng

With Zhang Dan

Detailed results

With Peng Cheng

Peng at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final

Peng at the 2014-15 Grand Prix Final

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zhang Hao (figure skater).

• Yu / Zhang at the International Skating Union
• Peng / Zhang at the International Skating Union
• Zhang / Zhang at the International Skating Union
• Official website (Chinese)