Cream of the ice in final warm-up

With Milano-Cortina 2026 just around the corner, the return of the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships to Beijing serves as a critical final rehearsal for China's best and the world's elite ahead of next month's Olympic challenge.

The annual championships, which were last hosted in the Chinese capital in 2003, will kick off its four-day second edition in Beijing on Thursday at the National Indoor Stadium, with over 100 skaters from 17 countries and regions fine-tuning their routines in the last official International Skating Union competition for the last time before the Olympic Games open in Milan on Feb 6.

Leading the host's charge will be legendary pair skaters Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who have finished on top of the podium at the championships a record six times.

After making the country proud by winning a gold medal at Beijing 2022, the veteran duo stepped away from competitive skating to continue their academic studies, until they made the surprising decision to lace up again for elite competitions in June last year.

With back-to-back podium finishes on this season's ISU Grand Prix series in Chongqing and Osaka, Sui and Han, a two-time world champion duo, have proved they remain a force to be reckoned with in pair skating.

They recently locked in their Olympic qualification spot by winning last month's Chinese national trial to embark on their third Winter Olympic trip.

"For me, this wasn't a surprise," the 30-year-old Sui said of her decision to come back competing.

"I saw the challenges Chinese figure skating has faced during the Milan Olympic cycle. As an athlete, who was cultivated by my country, I feel I still have the strength and the responsibility to keep moving forward.

"My hope is to lead the sport (for my country) again and push it just a bit further for a little longer."

Sui and Han will skate to the aria Habanera from Bizet's opera masterpiece Carmen in the short program and to the music from Chinese dance drama A Tapestry of a Legendary Land in their free skate at the Four Continents championships, aiming to further polish their artistic elements and technical details on home ice before the Olympic showdown at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

China will also be represented in pairs skating by youngsters Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang, who are making their Four Continents debut in Beijing.

Promoted to the senior ranks this season, the pair played a key role in earning China a national quota place for Milano-Cortina in September's Olympic qualifying event, yet was outperformed by the seasoned pair of Sui and Han in the domestic trial three weeks ago.

The spotlight for the women's singles will shine on teen prodigy Zhang Ruiyang, who secured China's national spot at the qualifying event and clinched herself the ticket by winning the domestic trial to represent her country in her Olympic debut in Milan.

The 18-year-old said she's eager to measure herself against international heavyweights at the same arena where she impressed at the Olympic qualifier four months ago.

"I am really excited to be back at the same rink and skate here again. I hope I can fix the mistakes that I made last time competing here and finish my programs more completely and error-free," said Zhang.

Two other Chinese women An Xiangyi, who has just recovered from a back injury, and Beijing 2022 contender Zhu Yi will also feature in the women's singles on home ice.

In the men's singles, veteran skater Jin Boyang anchors the Chinese trio that also includes Chen Yudong and Peng Zhiming. Jin aims to recapture the magic of his 2019 Four Continents silver-medal finish to boost his third Olympic campaign in Italy, while Chen and Peng are both looking to build experiences of international competition through the home test.

"The heat is on and everyone is finalizing their preparations for the Olympics, so am I," said 28-year-old Jin, who finished fourth in his Olympic debut at Pyeongchang 2018 to achieve China's best result in the men's singles at the Games.

"Hopefully, everyone can show their best form at the event and leave wonderful memories here."

The ice dance field includes Olympic combo Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu, who are expecting to make the most of the final rehearsal to warm up for their performance in Milan. They finished 12th at Beijing 2022 to mark the highest finish of a Chinese team in ice dance at the Olympics.

Younger ice dance pairs Ren Junfei and Xing Jianing, and Xiao Zixi and He Linghao, will join the field as well.

As a crucial assessment for the Olympic preparation, the tournament will feature a strong international cast, especially in the women's singles event, which includes 2023 South Korean champion Lee Hae-in, US champion Bradie Tennell and the returning Canadian star Gabrielle Daleman.

As for the pairs event, Japan's Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi will aim for the podium while challenging Sui and Han as they finalize their routines for Milan. Two-time US national champions Alisa Efimova and her husband Misha Mitrofanov will be another medal-contending duo in pairs skating in Beijing, although they did not qualify for Milano-Cortina.

Qin Haotian contributed to this story.