United States pairs Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, and Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay were in second and third place after eight of 20 pairs skated the short program Tuesday at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi.
China’s Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang were the early leaders with a 70.59, and the American pairs trailed at 67.44 for Castelli-Shnapir and 56.90 for Zhang-Bartholomay.
Wednesday’s pairs free skate follows the short program.
Update, 11:55 a.m.:
Maylin and Daniel Wende, a German husband-and-wife pair, move into third place with a score of 59.25, bumping Zhang and Bartholomay down. Half of the 20 pairs have taken the ice, with 10 more to go, including three each from Canada and Russia.
Sally Jenkins and Robert Samuels will provide further analysis.
Jenkins: Shnapir, Castelli earn season-best score
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