San Francisco Frontiers - China's Han and Sui win emotional Olympic gold in pairs skating

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 they have broken a world record this Games, soaring through their mission to bring home their first Olympic title.

They did it with style, landing a rare quadruple twist -- an overhead throw which no other competitors attempted -- to seal victory on home ice.

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 -- the two have been skating together since they were teenagers -- 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.

Such was the confidence in Sui and Han's ability to win in Beijing that the pairs event had been made the final of the four figure skating disciplines for the first time since 1956, according to the Olympics news site.

Their gold was China's ninth of the Games, meaning the hosts have moved up the medal table ahead of the United States.

Tarasova and Morozov gave them a good run for their money with their graceful skate, with Morozov falling to his knees, overcome with emotion, as the music ended.

Mishina and Galliamov, the reigning world and European champions, were not far behind either.

In grey and silver, they flitted across the ice like shadows to "The Snowstorm", scoring a total of 237.71.

R.Moore--SFF