Zhao Hongbo (; born 22 September 1973) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion (2002, 2003 & 2007), a three-time Four Continents Champion (1999, 2003 & 2007) and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion (1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006 & 2009). Shen and Zhao were the first Chinese pair team to win a medal at an International Skating Union event and at the World Figure Skating Championships. In 2002, they became the first Chinese pair skating team to win a World Championship. They are also the first Chinese pair skaters to win a medal at the Winter Olympic Games. In 2010, they were the first Chinese skaters to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games in any figure skating category, ending almost half a century of Russian and Soviet pair skating dominance. Personal life Zhao was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang and is of Manchurian ethnicity. Shen and Zhao announced their engagement after the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. They were married shortly after. Shen and Zhao are the parents of a daughter, born 3 September 2013. They currently live and coach in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Career Early career and development Early in his career, Zhao skated with partner Xie Maomao. They placed 11th at the 1991 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. He began skating with Shen Xue in 1992, under the tutelage of Yao Bin. They competed at their first Olympics in 1998, in Nagano, Japan and finished fifth. They went on to the 1999 World Figure Skating Championships a year later with improved choreography and expression, and won the silver medal, becoming the first Chinese team to ever win a World Championship medal. International Success Shen and Zhao improved each year, and were considered to be one of the top teams in the world. They won another silver medal at the Worlds in 2000, and a bronze in 2001. They were considered strong medal contenders in the 2002 Winter Olympics. They won the bronze with a strong performance, missing a throw quadruple salchow attempt. They became the first Chinese pair to win a medal at the Olympics for figure skating. World Champions At the 2002 World Figure Skating Championships held in Nagano, Japan, Shen and Zhao won their first World Championship, becoming the first Chinese pair skaters