On December 30, 2021, at the China Ice and Snow Media Open Day organized by the Winter Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport, the steel-framed snowmobile national training team that was preparing for the qualification tournament in Altenberg, Germany, was remotely interviewed by the media. Team leader Sun Fan introduced that the team has participated in the qualifying season in Europe since the end of July, and has won 8 European Championships, 2 Intercontinental Cups and 1 World Cup in the competition so far. He said that the team has made obvious progress and looks forward to making further breakthroughs at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Infographic: In the men's steel frame snowmobile event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Geng Wenqiang greeted the audience after the competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai Xuefei
Geng Wenqiang, who crossed the border from the long jump project, has been practicing steel frame snowmobiling for 6 years so far, and his achievements have climbed year by year, showing an unstoppable "Chinese speed". Known as "the first person of China's steel frame snowmobile", he has witnessed the chinese steel frame snowmobile from scratch, from weak to strong, from lagging behind people to the world's top.
On November 26, Geng Wenqiang won the men's singles race at the 2021-2022 Steel Frame Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, with a time of 1:46.04. This is Geng Wenqiang's first World Cup champion and the first World Cup champion of China's steel frame snowmobile. For Geng Wenqiang's season performance, team leader Sun Fan gave an affirmation, "We think it is very good, his current World Cup (points) ranking is seventh, the world ranking is eighth, indicating that he has entered the sequence of world masters." ”
Sun Fan believes that the targeted training of the short board is the main reason for Geng Wenqiang's World Cup victory. Geng Wenqiang's starting speed was not outstanding in the world before, and this summer Geng Wenqiang and the entire team are constantly strengthening and focusing on training, making his preparation for the Winter Olympics more solid. Some reporters have observed that Geng Wenqiang's sliding technique is improving day by day, and his handling of venues such as Altenberg that tests bending techniques is also comfortable. In response, he modestly responded that "practice makes perfect."
Meet Beijing 2021/2022 Bobsleigh and Steel Frame Bobsleigh Timing Race was officially launched at the National Bobsleigh Center in Yanqing, Beijing, the first international event to be held after the completion of the National Bobsleigh Center venue. Photo by Peng Ziyang, Xinhua News Agency
Steel frame snowmobiling is a very dangerous sport that emphasizes a combination of courage and skill. From zero-based cross-item to rank among the world's top sequences, in addition to the improvement of technology, Geng Wenqiang has also experienced a psychological rebirth" From long jump cross-item to steel frame snowmobile, the first step to overcome is psychological fear. ”
Now Geng Wenqiang is not afraid of any opponent, "This project started late in China, I hope to show myself to athletes from other countries, to compete with them, so that they can see the growth of the Chinese team." In addition, I myself challenge my predecessors as a junior, I am not afraid of them, I want to compete with them and show them the Chinese speed of steel frame snowmobiles. Geng Wenqiang said.
Talking about his mood of participating in the Olympic Games for the second time, Geng Wenqiang admitted frankly, "Compared with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, there must be a big difference in mentality, competing on the track in front of my home, I have pressure and tension in my heart, but this is benign pressure, which can make me play a better level." ”
Geng Wenqiang's coach Andres was the head coach of the Steel Frame Snowmobile Powerhouse Britain. In his view, although the steel frame snowmobile is an emerging development project in China, the Chinese national team has provided very good training conditions since last year, which can give athletes the opportunity to train based on the local area, accumulate experience for them, and also harvest results and build confidence this season. He commented, "Chinese athletes are very young, full of desire and passion for the sport (steel frame snowmobile), have the willingness to learn, and they are also very dedicated to this sport." Talking about the goal of the Chinese steel frame snowmobile at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Andres said, "As a head coach, winning the gold medal is always our pursuit and goal. ”
Wen | Liu Lingyu