Beijing, 19 Jan (Xinhua) -- In Beijing's Yanqing Xiaohaituo Mountain, an international standard bobsleigh track winds its way down like a dragon hovering between the mountains. That is the National Bobsleigh Center, also known as the "Snow Dragon".
Infographic: National Bobsleigh Center, taken on January 19, 2021. Xinhua News Agency reporter (Photo by Zhang Chenlin)
From February 13 to 20 this year, the Snowmobile Competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics will be held at the "Snow Dragon". As the highest average speed at the Winter Olympics, the snowmobile event will produce four gold medals in the men's double and four-person snowmobiles, and women's double snowmobiles and singles. Among them, the women's single snowmobile is a new event of this Winter Olympic Games.
The bobsleigh project originated in Switzerland, and at the end of the 19th century, the Swiss installed a steering device on the bobsleigh and created the snowmobile. In 1897, the world's first snowmobile club was founded in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Initially, the bobsleigh was wooden, but the skid was soon replaced by a steel sled. In 1923, the International Federation of Snowmobiles and Steel Frame Snowmobiles was founded. At the first Winter Olympics held the following year, snowmobiles were listed as official events.
Snowmobiling was first played mainly by groups of wealthy and adventurers, who on weekends held snowmobile races or party pastimes in alpine resorts. By the 1950s, however, snowmobiling was gradually attracting more people. As the importance of starting was recognized, athletes in athletics, gymnastics and other sports began to be absorbed into the snowmobile event in large quantities because they could give a strong thrust at the beginning of the competition.
Infographic: On October 26, 2021, Germany's Francisco Friedrich, Tolsten Maggie, Kandy Bauer and Alexander Schuller competed in a four-person snowmobile race. Xinhua News Agency reporter (Photo by He Changshan)
In 1952, in order to ensure that the race was conducted in a relatively fair environment, the International Federation of Snowmobiles and Steel Frame Snowmobiles began to regulate the weight of the participating snowmobiles and the total weight of the snowmobiles and the participants. Today, the weight of the men's double snowmobile body must not be less than 170 kg, the four-person snowmobile must not be less than 210 kg, the women's double snowmobile must not be less than 165 kg, and the single snowmobile must not be less than 162 kg. In terms of total weight (including the weight of the players), the maximum number of men's double snowmobiles shall not exceed 390 kg, the maximum number of four-person snowmobiles shall not exceed 630 kg, the women's double snowmobiles shall not exceed 325 kg, and the single snowmobile shall not exceed 245 kg. If the total weight does not reach the upper limit, the runner can counterweight the car body under the premise of ensuring safety.
In the early 1990s, women began to appear in snowmobile races in Europe and North America. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, USA, the women's double bobsleigh became an official event.
Before the snowmobile race starts, the bobsleigh blade should enter the groove to ensure that the body does not slip sideways. Within 6 seconds of the start signal, the athlete can push the snowmobile to start to obtain the initial speed, and the push distance is about 50 meters. After that, the athletes need to jump into the body one by one, the four-person snowmobile in the order of the helmsman, the two middle team members and the brakeman, the tandem jump into the body in the order of the helmsman and the brakeman, and quickly retract the handlebars and coast in a sitting position. During the taxi, the helmsman needs to control the vehicle and choose the optimal route. After the snowmobile passes through the finish line, the brakeman brakes.
Data chart: On October 26, 2021, Switzerland's Simon Fried, Adrian Fisler, Dominic Pascal Schlapifer and Andreas Haas in the men's four-man snowmobile race. Xinhua News Agency reporter (Photo by Peng Ziyang)
In general, the departure link is very important, even if the advantage of only 0.1 seconds at the time of departure may be further expanded to 0.3 seconds in the sprint stage. Of course, the helmsman is the core of the snowmobile team, and he wants to ensure that the snowmobile passes through at least 15 corners on the track smoothly and quickly. When competing, the gap between the champion and the runner-up is often only a few hundredths of a second.
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the United States and Canada are the world powerhouses in the snowmobile program. Olympic champion and German Athlete Friedrich, Olympic champion and Canadian Justin, American women's snowmobile veteran Taylor and her teammate Humphreys, and Canada's De Bruin will all be strong contenders for the gold medal in the snowmobile event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In the face of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, Friedrich once said in an interview with the German media that the athletes who are the most relaxed, the most able to adapt to the environment quickly and are not disturbed by off-site factors will win the Olympic championship. Talking about the Winter Olympic test activities he had participated in in Yanqing, he said that the conditions and environment of the "Snow Dragon" were excellent, much better than he had previously expected.
Mainland China only established the snowmobile national team in 2016, and there is still some gap between the project and the world's advanced level, and the possibility of winning gold or standing on the podium is unlikely. But can a domestic snowmobile that integrates the construction technology of mainland rockets be on the stage of the Winter Olympics? Can Chinese players such as Ying Qing and Huai Mingming use their home games to surpass their achievements? These will be important highlights of the snowmobile project of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Editors: Ding Wenxian, Huang Xuguo, Wu Junkuan, Du Qiuyu (Intern)