Unconfirmed: Zhang and Zhang may split?

[jjane45]

Is this brought up yet? Chinese forums are actively discussing a potential new partner for Zhang Hao (27). Allegedly Peng Cheng (17) / Zhang Tianci (20) split because of this, but nothing is confirmed yet. Oh well...

[Marco]

Because she grew too tall? If the Zhangs can only manage so much unison and pairness after skating together for what, 504 years, what are the odds of any new team involving Zhang Hao getting even half of that before Sochi?

[julieann]

She's too tall, they just can't continue. It's sad but if he wants too and can he should be allowed. His injuries were a direct result of her height and if he can continue with a smaller parter, good for him! They can get good in 6 years.

[Ziggy]

She's too tall, they just can't continue. It's sad but if he wants too and can he should be allowed. His injuries were a direct result of her height and if he can continue with a smaller parter, good for him! They can get good in 6 years.

Given his previous multiple injuries, I don't feel there's much chance of him having a real shot at 2018.

Zhangs should have split years ago, it's not like her being almost as tall as him is exactly news.

[kirkbiggestfan]

He is built like a house and she weights 2 pounds. He did not look like he had any struggle lifting her or throwing her. I am sure they will find him a tiny skater, but it won't be easy to find someone who can jump like her.

Every athlete deals with injuries. Trankov and Smirnov have similar one and overcame them. Get him healthy first.

[Cherub721]

He is built like a house and she weights 2 pounds. He did not look like he had any struggle lifting her or throwing her. I am sure they will find him a tiny skater, but it won't be easy to find someone who can jump like her.

I agree... her size was not a problem when they were doing throw 4sal and 4twist. Has she really grown taller since then?

And she was a great jumper... I will never forgot her coming back to hit 2axel-3toe right after her horrible fall in Torino.

I just think the fact is they are getting older, struggling with the jump more, and have not improved on their artistry. Pang & Tong are having similar issues. I hope the Chinese fed is not "blaming" Dan Zhang and/or her body type.

[pinky166]

I agree... her size was not a problem when they were doing throw 4sal and 4twist. Has she really grown taller since then?

And she was a great jumper... I will never forgot her coming back to hit 2axel-3toe right after her horrible fall in Torino.

I just think the fact is they are getting older, struggling with the jump more, and have not improved on their artistry. Pang & Tong are having similar issues. I hope the Chinese fed is not "blaming" Dan Zhang and/or her body type.

There was an article and apparently she has grown taller... she was 164 cm before and now is reportedly 169 or 170 cm. I guess when she was injured and took time off she grew, even at age 24.

[jjane45]

Allegedly more mix and match on the way among lower ranked pairs...

[julieann]

Given his previous multiple injuries, I don't feel there's much chance of him having a real shot at 2018.

Zhangs should have split years ago, it's not like her being almost as tall as him is exactly news.

Like I said his injuries were cause from trying to catch a girl who was too big, 5'3", 5'4", 5'5" not to mention the added weight takes it toll on a guy. So as he's healing, other body parts start to compensate like his shoulder, even he admitted that. He said she was as tall as 5'7" and was now the tallest pairs skater ever. He is only 6 feet. That is not a good match. He is better off with a girl who is around 5'2" or 5'3".

He is built like a house and she weights 2 pounds. He did not look like he had any struggle lifting her or throwing her. I am sure they will find him a tiny skater, but it won't be easy to find someone who can jump like her.

Every athlete deals with injuries. Trankov and Smirnov have similar one and overcame them. Get him healthy first.

I doubt she weighs 2 pounds, especially this year. This year was a struggle especially at the GPF. If he can find someone who is smaller to grow with him over the next few years, jumping usually isn't a problem with skaters especially at this level.

Trankov's and Smirnov's injury issues were not related to their partners. They were individual issues with their own bodies.

I agree... her size was not a problem when they were doing throw 4sal and 4twist. Has she really grown taller since then?

Yes, according to her wiki page:

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, 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.

[VALuvsMKwan]

Yes, according to her wiki page:

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, 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.

So she finally started eating and started growing? God forbid that should happen.

[Cherub721]

So she finally started eating and started growing? God forbid that should happen.

My thoughts exactly...

[julieann]

So she finally started eating and started growing? God forbid that should happen.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, no one said there was

But should Hao Zhang have to lug around a girl who 5 inches shorter than he is?

Here is their last lift a the Grand Prix Final, it's really messy and he looks like he's in agony. And that's after about 18 months off I think to recover for his finger now he has shoulder problems from compensating for his finger, they were out the rest of this season. I don;t think they skated anymore this year.

So should he continue to train with her or start fresh? They are dating so that complicates things.

[Jeschke]

hm, would be sorry for them.
i really like the skating of dan zhang; would be hard to find a girl with 3sal and 2a3toe, think it´s almost impossible

[FunnyBut]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, no one said there was.

I agree with you, it's a practical matter to find a very small partner, nobody can defy physics. Inches and pounds matter in skating, esp. for the lady in pairs, since throws and lifts are such a big part of the sport. I do feel bad for her, to literally outgrow the sport she has trained all her life for.

[Flatfoote]

The silly part of me is thinking, if he finds a partnership with a tiny tot, they better be careful. If he is so used to hefting a larger person around, the first time he does a throw with a new girl, he's gonna end up tossing her across the arena!

[blue_idealist]

is Dan Zhang retiring? maybe she could skate singles since she's a good jumper? China doesn't have that many good ladies singles skaters, besides Kexin Zhang and Bingwa Geng is decent too.

[RFOS]

is Dan Zhang retiring? maybe she could skate singles since she's a good jumper? China doesn't have that many good ladies singles skaters, besides Kexin Zhang and Bingwa Geng is decent too.

And Zijun Li.

[ioana]

Peng seems to have good SBS jumps of her own based on the youtube videos I've seen. No 2axel-3toe, but solid 3toe and a 2axel are a good building block.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umoivWFqGCU

[julieann]

hm, would be sorry for them.
i really like the skating of dan zhang; would be hard to find a girl with 3sal and 2a3toe, think it´s almost impossible

I wouldn't worry about it, the Zhangs didn't hit that combo enough times to make it worth it anyway

[judgejudy27]

is Dan Zhang retiring? maybe she could skate singles since she's a good jumper? China doesn't have that many good ladies singles skaters, besides Kexin Zhang and Bingwa Geng is decent too.

Yeah I would like to see her try singles. She was an incredibly boring pairs skater anyway, and she brought him down, especialy artistically. She could choose some stony serious music to skate to, it would suit her non expression as she skates, and she could actually try and make it work if on her own. I think she could do a number of triples training for singles, she seemed to be an excellent jumper.