Zhang Dan

Zhang Dan

Zhang & Zhang in 2009.
Personal information
Full name	Zhang Dan
Country represented	China
Born	October 4, 1985 (1985-10-04) (age 26)[1] or October 4, 1987 (1987-10-04) (age 24)[2] (see also Age controversy below) Harbin
Height	1.695 m (5 ft 7 in)
Partner	Zhang Hao
Coach	Yao Bin Chen Xiaofei
Former coach	Huan Bing Sun Lu
Choreographer	Lori Nichol
Former choreographer	Marina Zueva Igor Shpilband Renée Roca
Skating club	Harbin Skating Club
Began skating	1992
World standing	18 (As of 16 June 2011 (2011 -06-16)[update])[3]
Season's bests	6 (2009–2010)[4] 3 (2008–2009)[5]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	197.82 2008 World Championships
Short program	74.36 2008 World Championships
Free skate	126.36 2010 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
Medal record Competitor for  China Pairs' Figure skating Olympic Games Silver 2006 Turin Pairs World Championships Silver 2009 Los Angeles Pairs Silver 2008 Gothenburg Pairs Silver 2006 Calgary Pairs Bronze 2005 Moscow Pairs Four Continents Championships Gold 2010 Jeonju Pairs Bronze 2009 Vancouver Pairs Silver 2008 Goyang Pairs Gold 2005 Gangneung Pairs Silver 2004 Hamilton Pairs Bronze 2003 Beijing Pairs Bronze 2002 Jeonju Pairs Grand Prix Final Silver 2008–2009 Goyang Pairs Silver 2007–2008 Turin Pairs Bronze 2006–2007 St. Petersburg Pairs Silver 2005–2006 Tokyo Pairs World Junior Championships Gold 2003 Ostrava Pairs Gold 2001 Sofia Pairs Junior Grand Prix Final Gold 2001–2002 Bled Pairs Gold 2000–2001 Ayr Pairs

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  China
Pairs Figure skating
Silver	2006 Turin	Pairs

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Dan (simplified Chinese: 张丹; traditional Chinese: 張丹; pinyin: Zhāng Dān; born October 4, 1985 in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China) is a Chinese pair skater. With her partner Zhang Hao, she is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, 2005 & 2010 Four Continents champion, and three time (2006, 2008–2009) World silver medalist.

Biography

The unrelated Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao teamed up in 1997. They immediately had a lot of success on the junior circuit. They won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix in their first year on it and then placed 5th at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They also won the bronze medal at the 1999 Chinese national championships and the silver at the 2000 Chinese national championships.

In the 2000-2001 season, they won the Junior Grand Prix Final, placed third at nationals, and then won Junior Worlds. At the 2000 Junior Worlds, they performed a quadruple twist, the first quad twist ever performed at that event.

They stayed in the junior ranks in the 2001-2002 season, winning the Junior Grand Prix Final yet again. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 Four Continents Championships and then went to the 2002 Olympics, where they placed 11th. After the Olympics, they went to their first Worlds and came in 9th place.

In the 2002-2003 season, they competed at both the Junior and senior Grand Prix, due to ISU rules that pairs can do both in one season. They won the Junior Grand Prix event in China, then performed well at both their Grand Prix events, placing 4th in both of them. They went to Junior Worlds and once again won it before going to the World Figure Skating Championships and placing 6th.

Following that season, Zhang and Zhang became serious contenders. They consistently medaled at their Grand Prix events. They won the 2005 Four Continents Championships and then won the bronze at the 2005 Worlds.

Zhang and Zhang went into the 2006 Olympics as medal contenders. They had planned a throw quadruple salchow jump for the free skate, a jump which had not yet been landed in competition. Zhang Dan fell on it during the free skate and suffered an injury, but chose to finish the program. There was a minor controversy about finishing the program because while Zhang Dan had been lying on the ice from the fall, the referee had stopped the music, and the Zhangs took a certain amount of time to restart the program. ISU rules say that the program can be continued if the referee agrees the stoppage was due to a valid reason, such as injuries or equipment failures. Once the referee has approved a continuation, the skaters are given two minutes to continue the program from the point where the music stopped. Zhang regrouped within this period and was able to finish the program. They won the silver medal, placing ahead of defending Olympic medalists Shen Xue & Hongbo Zhao. At Worlds, they won the silver, behind Pang Qing & Tong Jian.

In the 2006-2007 season, Zhang and Zhang placed first at Skate Canada, second at the NHK Trophy, and would go on to place third at the Grand Prix Final. They placed 5th at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships later that season.

Zhang Dan is the tallest currently-competing female pair skater. In 2008, she was 1.63 m and in October 2009, she reached 1.675 m,^[6] surpassing Tatiana Totmianina (1.65 m) and ending in a virtual tie with Viktoria Borzenkova (1.68 m) who are both retired. As of August 2011, she is the tallest female in elite pair skating, being 1.695 m in height.^[7]

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, the pair placed 5th. They also placed fifth at 2010 World Figure Skating Championships.

Before the 2010-2011 season began, her partner 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.^[7]

Age controversy

On February 14, 2011, the Zhangs' ages became the subject of controversy. Although her International Skating Union bio lists Zhang Dan as born on October 4, 1985, a Chinese skating association website suggested she was born on that day in 1987.^[2] This would mean that during the 2001-02 season she was 14 and too young to compete in senior events such as the Four Continents where they won bronze, as well as the Olympics and World Championships.^[2] Her partner's age also came under scrutiny. His ISU bio states that he was born on July 6, 1984 but the Chinese website suggested he was born on February 6, 1982, making him too old to compete in junior events during the 2002-03 season, such as the 2003 World Junior Championships where they won gold.^[2] The dates disappeared from the website by February 15.^[8] 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.^[8]

Programs

(with Zhang Hao)

Season	Short program	Long program	Exhibition
2011–2012[9]	A Transylvanian Lullaby by John Morris	Adagio Sostenuto from Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major "Totentanz" by Franz Liszt
2010–2011		Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia by Aram Khatchaturian	Here I Am by 4Men Spanish Caravan, Hello I Love You by The Doors
2009–2010[1]	Piano Fantasy by Maksim Mrvica Selections from Fosse (musical) including Sing, Sing, Sing	Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov	Auf Flügeln des Gesanges by Felix Mendelssohn
2008–2009[10]	Auf Flügeln des Gesanges ("On Wings of Song") by Felix Mendelssohn	Changjiang River Piano Concerto by Hao Weiya
2007–2008	Piano Fantasy by Maksim Mrvica	The Myth (soundtrack)	Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao
2006–2007	Spanish Caravan & I Love You by The Doors	The Offspring of Dragons by Hou De Jian
2005–2006	Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
2004–2005	All Alone by Joe Satriani

Competitive highlights

Zhang & Zhang on the podium at the 2009 World Championships.

Zhang and Zhang perform a triple twist

(with Zhang)

Event	1999–00	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12
Winter Olympic Games			11th				2nd				5th
World Championships			9th	6th	5th	3rd	2nd	5th	2nd	2nd	5th
Four Continents Championships			3rd	3rd	2nd	1st			2nd	3rd	1st
World Junior Championships	4th	1st		1st
Chinese Championships	2nd	3rd	3rd	1st	2nd				1st				1st
Grand Prix Final					6th	5th	2nd	3rd	2nd	2nd	6th		TBD
Cup of China						2nd				1st	2nd		2nd
Skate America				4th	3rd	1st	1st				3rd		2nd
Cup of Russia					3rd	1st			1st	1st
Trophée Eric Bompard				4th	1st				1st
NHK Trophy							1st	2nd
Skate Canada								1st
Winter Universiade						1st		1st		1st
Junior Grand Prix Final	5th	1st	1st
Junior Grand Prix, China		1st		1st
Junior Grand Prix, Italy			1st
Junior Grand Prix, Sweden			1st
Junior Grand Prix, Norway		1st
Junior Grand Prix, Japan	1st
Junior Grand Prix, Canada	2nd

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Zhang Dan & Zhang Hao". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 6, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100406073016/http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00003604.htm. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "China eyed over 9 athletes' ages". Associated Press (ESPN). February 14, 2011. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsports.espn.go.com%2Foly%2Ffigureskating%2Fnews%2Fstory%3Fid%3D6120559&date=2011-11-13. 
3. ^ "ISU World Standings for Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance : Pairs". International Skating Union. June 16, 2011. http://www.isuresults.com/ws/ws/wspairs.htm. Retrieved June 17, 2011. 
4. ^ "ISU Judging System - Season Bests Total Scores 2009/2010 : Pairs". International Skating Union. March 24, 2010. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100402085743/http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2009-10/sbtspto.htm. 
5. ^ "ISU Judging System - Season Bests Total Scores 2008/2009 : Pairs". International Skating Union. April 18, 2009. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100118160316/http://www.isufs.org/isujsstat/sb2008-09/sbtspto.htm. 
6. ^ "张丹身高暴涨“压坏”张昊 快节奏选曲挑战更大 [Zhang Dan's growth "crushing" Zhang Hao]". sohu.com. October 13, 2009. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsports.sohu.com%2F20091013%2Fn267328511.shtml&date=2011-11-13. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "张丹/张昊淡看头羊角色 节目精彩演绎死亡之舞 [Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao]". cn.yahoo.com. August 15, 2011. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsports.cn.yahoo.com%2Fypen%2F20110815%2F529998.html&date=2011-11-13. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "ISU: No discrepancies for Olympic silver medalists". Associated Press (Yahoo News). February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fisu-no-discrepancies-olympic-silver-medalists-20110217-072237-596.html&date=2011-11-13. 
9. ^ "Zhang Dan & Zhang Hao". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.isuresults.com%2Fbios%2Fisufs00003604.htm&date=2011-11-13. 
10. ^ "Zhang Dan & Zhang Hao". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090616092033/http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00003604.htm. 

• World Junior Figure Skating Championships: ISU Results: PairsPDF (10.5 KB)
• Zhang & Zhang at the International Skating Union

External links

• Official website (Chinese)

Persondata
Name	Zhang, Dan
Alternative names
Short description	Chinese figure skater
Date of birth	1985-10-04
Place of birth	Harbin
Date of death
Place of death