BEIJING, Feb. 11 -- China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, the hot favorites to win the figure skating pairs event at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, claim they are in peak form and ready for fierce competition on the ice.

"We did very well in recent training sessions and worked on some high-quality, technical elements of the program," said Shen, before leaving for what will be the pair's last Winter Olympics at the weekend.

"We are very excited about going to the Olympics for a fourth time. We are very relaxed and will strive for as good a result as possible. We are feeling no pressure."

After spending more than two years in retirement, the three-time world champion pair burst back on to the skating scene last year in a bid to claim that elusive Olympic gold at the Vancouver Games.

China's figure skating world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo practise during a training session in Beijing last November. Inset: Shen/Zhao hold toy tigers (2010 is the year of Tiger in China) to say Happy New Year to their fans during their preparation for the Vancouver Winter Olympics in Beijing last December

The veteran duo has won all three competitions it has participated in this season and upped its personal best score each time.

China's national figure skating coach, Yao Bin, believes Olympic gold is well within reach of the husband-and-wife duo.

"This time, we are closest to the Olympic gold medal," said Yao, who will be taking part in his sixth Olympics.

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