( CNN ) -- China 's figure skating pair of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo capped an emotional comeback to the Winter Olympics on Monday by capturing the pairs figure skating gold . By winning the event , Shen and Zhao captured their country 's first gold medal in figure skating and fulfilled a quest that had previously eluded them . The husband-and-wife team had retired from Olympic competition , but was coaxed back by the hope of claiming gold . China made it a 1-2 finish in pairs skating after Pan Qing and Tong Jian claimed silver , according to the Vancouver Olympics Web site . Germany 's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy claimed third place and the bronze medal in the event . Elsewhere at the Olympics , South Korea 's Mo Tae-Bum captured the gold medal in the men 's 500-meter speed skating event . Japan 's Keiichiro Nagashima and Joji Kato captured silver and bronze , respectively . In figure skating , China 's Shen and Zhao had retired in 2007 after capturing three world championships and two Olympic bronze medalists , making them the most decorated figure skaters in their country 's history . Shen and Zhao were also newlyweds after Zhao proposed to Shen on the ice following a stunning 2007 World Championship performance in Tokyo . Headlining the popular Stars on Ice tour in the United States , retirement seemed like a natural step for Zhao and Shen . But after just two years away , they declared they would return for the Vancouver Olympics , presumably to capture the gold medal that eluded them . CNN memories : What was it like to train with Olympic champs ? Zhao and Shen kicked off their comeback fittingly by winning the Cup of China last season . They won all three of their events and set a new world record at the Grand Prix Final . The pair , formerly ranked number one in the world , opened the Vancouver Olympic figure skating competitions by performing first of the 20 competing pairs . Their draw was considered bad luck , especially because Shen and Zhao currently rank 29th in the world after being away from competition . Zhao and Shen delivered a near flawless performance in the short program on Sunday , what many skating analysts called their strongest program ever . `` We wanted the program to show all that we have , and we made it , '' Zhao told the Xinhua news agency in Vancouver following the short program on Sunday . `` It 's the best gift for the Valentine 's Day , '' Shen added . CNN 's Jo Ling Kent contributed to this report .
China 's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo claim figure skating pairs gold . husband - wife team had returned to competition after two - year absence . South Korea 's Mo Tae - ho wins gold in men 's 500-meter speed skating . Japan claims silver and bronze in men 's 500-meter speed skating .