21.   Unlike many of the skaters here, Dmitriev said the Russian pair practiced long hours in hopes of winning a gold.

22.   With her partner, David Pelletier, the pair seemed to have outskated the Russian pair of Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.

23.   With the female swimmers, like the Russian pair that won the gold medal, everything is more synchronized.

24.   An interesting pair to watch may be Artur Dmitriev and Oksana Kazakova, another Russian pair.

25.   Another Russian pair, Olga Semkina and Andrei Tchouviliaev, won the bronze.

26.   As with all Russian pairs and dance teams, they studied ballet along with skating.

27.   As with all Russian pairs, they studied ballet along with skating.

28.   At this point, a French couple is in first place, followed by a Russian pair.

29.   Before the competition, there was a moment of silence for Grinkov, the Russian pairs skater who died of a heart attack last week.

30.   Fernandez and Zvereva start with a match on Thursday against the Russian pair of Elena Makarova and Eugenia Maniokova.