The Nordic biathlon, consisting of ski jumping and cross-country skiing, tests the overall ability of athletes, and has been listed as a competition since the first Winter Olympics in 1924, and is the only event at the Winter Olympics that only competes in the men's group. Chinese athletes have never qualified for the Winter Olympics in this event before, and this time Zhao Jiawen will represent the Chinese Nordic biathlon team on the stage of the Winter Olympics for the first time.
Zhao Jiawen qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, there are 3 sub-events in the Nordic biathlon, namely men's individual standard platform + 10 km cross-country skiing, men's individual big jump + 10 km cross-country skiing, men's team big jump + 4×5 km cross-country skiing. There are a total of 55 seats in the competition, and each team can send up to 5 players to participate.
The main rules of the Nordic two competitions are the same as those of the individual competitions of ski jumping and cross-country skiing, in which cross-country skiing is all free technology. The beijing Winter Olympics ranking calculation method will adopt the Gunderson competition system, that is, the ski jumping competition will be carried out first, and the order and interval of departure in the cross-country skiing competition will be determined based on the scores achieved by the athletes in the ski jumping competition, and the individual athletes will need to postpone the departure of 4 seconds for every 1 point behind, and the total score in the team competition will need to be postponed by 1.33 seconds for every 1 minute behind. The final ranking of individuals or groups is determined by the order in which they reach the finish line in cross-country skiing.
Nordic two events developed late in China. In 2009, Chinese athletes competed in the Nordic biathlon at the Winter Universiade. However, in high-level competitions, the level of Chinese players is quite different from the world level, and before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese team had never qualified for the Winter Olympics.
China's Nordic biathlon national training team was established in June 2018, and most of the selected athletes have a certain foundation in cross-country skiing, but the level of ski jumping is relatively weak. After the establishment of the team, it immediately went to Japan, Finland and other places to carry out foreign training. In December of the same year, the team participated in an intercontinental cup competition held in the United States, which was also the first time that the team members stepped on the international arena of Nordic biathlon, although the first time the results were not good, but the team members recognized the gap in strength, but also increased their confidence and motivation, and threw themselves into training. In December 2020, the Laiyuan National Ski Jumping Training and Research Base, which was officially put into use, created better preparation conditions for the Nordic two training teams, and the wind tunnel laboratory greatly improved their training efficiency.
Zhao Jiawen in the "Meet in Beijing" series of test matches. Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency
Nordic biathlon training teams continue to grow, and on November 26, 2021, Zhao Jiawen finished 22nd in the Intercontinental Cup men's individual standard platform + 10 km cross-country skiing event in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, locking in a Beijing Winter Olympics host presidency, which means that Chinese athletes will step on the Olympic field for the first time.
"Ski jumping requires athletes to have a relatively light body, while cross-country skiing tests the explosiveness, aerobic ability and super endurance of athletes, these two small events are difficult to cooperate, and many athletes are difficult to take into account." Especially ski jumping, compared with foreign athletes, Chinese athletes need to quickly practice the ability to jump on the big platform, which is also a great challenge. Zhao Jiawen said that getting the Winter Olympic qualification is not the end, and he is ready to sprint with all his might. The coach's plan has been formulated, Zhao Jiawen will strictly implement the training plan, cross-country skiing, continue to improve endurance through high-intensity training, but also will hone the ski jumping technology, "strive to break into the top 30 at the doorstep, or the top 20." ”
The Nordic two are better carried out in Norway, Finland, Sweden and other Nordic countries. Since the 1960s, the level of players from Central European countries and regions such as Germany, Switzerland and Austria has begun to improve. Norway and Germany are both veteran Nordic teams, with Norway winning the most gold medals at the Winter Olympics in history, with a total of 13 gold medals. At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Norway performed poorly, winning only one silver medal in the team event, while germany won all three gold medals and the top three places in the men's individual big jump + 10 km cross-country skiing. Germany's main player Eric Frenzell also defended his title in the men's individual standard + 10 km cross-country skiing event. Norway's Jar Magnus Ribel performed best during the Beijing Winter Olympics cycle, and the athlete born in 1997 has been ranked first in the world for the previous three seasons, showing an extremely stable competitive state. Born in 2001, Austrian youngster Lampart beat Ribel at the 2021 World Championships to win the title, and Japanese veteran Watanabe Xiaodou and Germany's Wenzenz Geiger also have great strengths.
In the men's team event, the overall strength of Germany and Norway is very close, and the two teams are bound to compete fiercely for the gold medal, and Austria, Japan and other teams also have the strength to compete for a good position.