Ren Ziwei, Wu Dajing, Sui Wenjing, Han Cong, Ning Zhongyan, Gu Ailing, Xu Mengtao, and Qi Guangpu. With only a month away from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, more than 400 athletes from 29 national training teams in ice and snow sports are fully preparing for the competition and launching a final sprint towards the goal of "achieving the best result in the history of China's Winter Olympic Games".
"Three arrows at the same time" on ice
Of the 13 gold medals won in the history of the Chinese Winter Olympics, 12 were in short track speed skating, figure skating and speed skating. A month later, at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the representative teams of these three events are expected to "strike with three arrows" and continue to serve as the main force of the Chinese legion to win gold medals.
On November 21, 2021, the Chinese team presented the award ceremony of the 2000m mixed relay in Hungary at the short track speed skating World Cup. They won the championship with a time of 2:39.386. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Folti Otilo)
Despite the twists and turns of changing coaches twice in the past few years, the ace of the Chinese short track speed skating team has basically maintained the level of a strong team in the 2021-2022 World Cup. Ren Ziwei and Pingchang Winter Olympic champion Wu Dajing also locked in the Beijing Winter Olympics in advance with their winning performance. Although the overall strength of the Chinese women's team has not changed significantly, the Chinese team still has the strength to impact medals and even gold medals in several single events of the men's and men's and women's relays and mixed relays. If nothing else, the Chinese short track team will continue the momentum of the annual gold medal since the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
Like Ren Ziwei and Wu Dajing, speed skating stars Ning Zhongyan and Gao Tingyu also relied on their gold medals in the World Cup series to lock in the Olympic "ticket" in advance. With a strong performance in the men's 1500m and 1000m races and a personal best in the 1000m in Calgary, Ning Zhongyan became the leader of the Chinese speed skating team to attack the gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. In absent from some World Cup events, Gao Tingyu won a gold and silver in the men's 500m event, and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic bronze medalist is moving towards higher goals. In the women's team chase, the Chinese team also has the hope of competing for medals. In the words of Li Yan, head coach of the Chinese speed skating team, "we can expect something.".
On November 5, 2021, Sui Wenjing/Han Cong competed in the 2021-2022 Figure Skating Grand Prix in Turin, Italy. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jin Ma Mengni
At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago, Sui Wenjing/Han Cong left a trail of regret for missing out on the gold medal at a slight disadvantage. Four years later, they will overcome injury distress and will once again hit the podium. At the 2021-2022 World Figure Skating Grand Prix, two-time World Champion Sui Wenjing/Han Cong topped the world twice in two races in Canada and Italy, with their teammates Peng Cheng/Jin Yang runner-up in Italy. In the latest pair skating world rankings, Sui Wenjing/Han Cong and Peng Cheng/Jin Yang are third and fifth respectively, and the other three seats in the top five are occupied by three Pairs of Russian pairs, including World Champion Misna/Gallamov. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the main theme of figure skating pair skating will be the dispute between China and Russia. In addition, in the men's singles event, Jin Boyang, the fourth place in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is also actively adjusting his state and fighting to surpass himself.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Chinese women's curling team won the bronze medal for the first time. But at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago, the Chinese men's team did not qualify, and the women's team and mixed doubles record were mediocre. In this home battle, the Chinese team directly won the full quota of seats in the men's, women's and mixed doubles events. Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the Chinese curling team has been preparing for the game in a low-key manner, looking forward to the transformation after they start again.
Gu Ailing leads the strongest "shock wave" on the snow
Since its first appearance at the Winter Olympics in 1980, the Chinese legion has been in a situation of "strong ice and weak snow", with only one of the 13 gold medals won so far coming from snow sports, and the history-making figure was Han Xiaopeng, a freestyle skiing aerial skiller who reached the top at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. After the hard work of athletes over the past few years, this situation is expected to change at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
On January 1, Gu Ailing celebrated at the award ceremony. On the same day, in the International Snow Federation Freestyle Ski World Cup Calgary Competition held in Calgary, Canada, China's Gu Ailing won the women's U-shaped field championship with a score of 92.80 points.
Since shining at the Winter Youth Olympics in 2020, the current 18-year-old freestyle skiing rookie Gu Ailing has continued to perform strongly, winning several gold medals at the World Extreme Games and the Freestyle Ski world championships earlier last year. Although she missed her first race in Austria due to injury this season, she immediately returned from injury and won consecutive matches in the Freestyle Ski Jumping World Cup Stembot station in the United States and the U-field World Cup in Calgary. In the three small events of U-shaped venues, big jumping platforms and slope obstacle skills that she participated in, Gu Ailing has strong strength, which has increased the number of gold points for the Winter Olympics in China's snow sports by three at once.
In the freestyle ski aerial skills project, the Chinese team will once again attack the gold medal with its strong overall strength. In the World Cup in December last year, the Chinese team, which has been away from the scene for a long time due to the new crown epidemic, twice won the gold medal of the new small mixed team competition of the Winter Olympics, showing the thickness of the superior. In addition, Xu Mengtao, who is about to participate in the Winter Olympics for the fourth time, and Kong Fanyu, 28, have also had the highlight performance of winning the women's individual championship in the scoring station. In the remaining month, the Chinese team will continue to polish its technology and adjust its status.
On December 12, 2021, Cai Xuetong waited for the results after the competition. On the same day, the 2021-2022 FIS Snowboard U-Field World Cup in the United States Tongshan Station came to an end, and Cai Xuetong, who is now the world's second-ranked Chinese star, won the crown with a score of 80.50 points in the women's final.
At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics four years ago, Liu Jiayu and Cai Xuetong finished second and fifth in the women's snowboard U-shaped field respectively, setting their own best records. A month later, the pair of "Gemini stars" are expected to join forces to fight in the Winter Olympics as "elders of the four dynasties".
The Chinese team also has a new highlight in the men's snowboard event. The 17-year-old Su Yiming won the gold medal at the Veneer Jumping World Cup in the United States, becoming the first Chinese person to stand on the podium of the World Cup winner of the project. Another young player, Yang Wenlong, completed the ultra-difficult action of the inner flip in 1980 (four weeks of the flip plus a week and a half of the turn) at the Saas-Fee Training Camp in Switzerland, becoming the first snowboarder in the world to complete the action completely. These young people are not afraid of tigers, and they have made people pay new attention and expectations for Chinese snowboarding.
Vicious short board to seek a multi-point breakthrough
When Beijing and Zhangjiakou successfully bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2015, about a third of the more than 100 sub-events at the Winter Olympics were not carried out in China. In the past seven years, China's ice and snow industry has made concerted efforts to make up for shortcomings and achieve new breakthroughs again and again.
Li Yingchuan, deputy director of the State General Administration of Sports, once said at a press conference of the State Council's new office: "The Beijing Winter Olympics have effectively promoted the improvement of China's ice and snow sports competition. At present, There are 29 national training teams in ice and snow sports in China, and 480 athletes are sprinting to prepare for the Beijing Winter Olympics. When Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2015, about a third of The 109 events in China had never been carried out; at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Chinese teams accounted for about half of the total number of events. But as the host of this Winter Olympics, we will strive to achieve the goal of participating in all projects, which will be a historic breakthrough. ”
On November 26, 2021, China's Geng Wenqiang won the championship with a time of 1:46.04 in the men's singles race of the Steel Frame Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, with a time of 1:46.04.
Geng Wenqiang witnessed the "Chinese speed" of Chinese athletes making rapid progress in the steel frame snowmobile event. From 2015 through cross-border cross-border material selection to contact the steel frame snowmobile project, to the first time in 2018 to stand on the Winter Olympics and win the 13th place, to November 26, 2021 in the steel frame snowmobile World Cup in The Austrian Innsbruck men's singles competition, Geng Wenqiang has rewritten history again and again. In the 2021-2022 Bobsleigh and Bobsleigh World Cup, Chinese athletes achieved many "zero breakthroughs". Men's bobsleigh player Fan Duoyao finished 32nd in men's singles at Yanqing Station, creating the best result of Chinese men's bobsleigh in the World Cup; at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, China's Huai Mingming won the 10th place in women's single bobsleigh. At the Beijing Winter Olympics a month later, I believe they will bring us new surprises.
On November 21, 2021, China's Fan Duoyao competed in the "Meet in Beijing" 2021/2022 International Bobsleigh Federation Bobsleigh World Cup Team Relay Competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Yichen
Alpine skiing is known as the "crown jewel" of the Winter Olympics, but Chinese athletes have always had a huge gap with world-class athletes in this event, and it has been difficult to even qualify in the past Winter Olympics. In recent years, the Chinese team has worked hard to overcome difficulties and achieved remarkable results. This season, by participating in the International Snow Federation points competitions held in Yanqing Xiaohaituo, Heilongjiang Yabuli and abroad, the Chinese team has qualified for 10 minor events except for the women's super big slalom. Liu Zhen, the leader of the Chinese team, said: "Our whole team is very confident that in the points race in January, we will go all out to tackle the key problems, grit our teeth and persevere, win the qualification for the last project, and achieve the goal of participating in the whole project." ”
Also about to make a breakthrough at the Beijing Winter Olympics is the Chinese men's ice hockey team, which will appear on the ice hockey arena for the first time as hosts. After missing a seat at the Winter Olympics last year, Chinese women's ice will also appear at the Winter Olympics again. After five months of "foreign training competitions" in Russia, the coaching team has created a team-style defensive counterattack tactical system. Although the gap with the world's strongest teams is still obvious, the Olympic debut of Chinese men's ice and the return of Chinese women's ice are still worth looking forward to.
In the ski jumping event, the Chinese team is also rewriting history. According to Xu Gaohang, director of the Training Department of the Winter Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport and the leader of the ski jumping team, the ski jumping team has so far obtained the Olympic qualifications of one man and two women, and can participate in four Winter Olympic events, and is also striving to qualify for the men's team competition. In terms of the number of people who qualified for the Winter Olympics of ski jumping, the Chinese team has achieved a historic breakthrough.
On December 5, 2021, China's Zhao Jiawen competed in the men's big jump in the second leg of the 2021-2022 ITB Nordic Intercontinental Cup in the "Meet in Beijing" series. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Huhu
In the FIS Nordic Biathlon Intercontinental Cup competition, China's Zhao Jiawen won a precious Winter Olympic ticket for the Chinese team in the men's individual standard platform + 10 km cross-country skiing competition, and the young Chinese Nordic biathlon team will usher in the "Winter Olympic Debut" in Beijing.
Not long ago, the Winter Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport clearly pointed out that it is necessary to take the realization of "ice projects on the ladder", "breakthroughs in snow projects" and "the best results in the history of China's Winter Olympic Games" as the starting point, and do a good job in the selection of Chinese sports delegations for the Beijing Winter Olympics. There is still a month to go before the start of the Winter Olympic Games, and some Chinese ice and snow athletes are carrying out closed sprints in China, and some are still training and competing outside the country, making the last effort to compete for the qualification for the Winter Olympic Games. A month later, they will gather at the Winter Olympics to work together to achieve the wonderful goal of participating in the competition!
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Wang Jingyu, Su Bin