The Beijing Winter Olympics short track speed skating event set nine gold medals, which were in the men's and women's 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, and the men's 5000 meters relay, women's 3000 meters relay, and mixed team relay. The first gold medal will be won in the mixed team relay event on 5 February.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, China's short track speed skating achieved full participation. According to the previous list, the lineup of the Chinese team is composed of veterans and newcomers, the male players are Wu Dajing, Ren Ziwei, Sun Long, Li Wenlong, Zhang Tianyi, and the female players are Zhang Yuting, Fan Kexin, Qu Chunyu, Zhang Chutong, han Yutong. Wu Dajing and Fan Kexin will usher in their third Winter Olympic Games, Ren Ziwei, Qu Chunyu and Han Yutong will go to the Winter Olympics for the second time, and the remaining 5 players will debut in the Winter Olympic Games.
The men's team has both joys and worries and faces the fierce rivals South Korea and Hungary
On October 31, 2021, in the final of the men's 1000m Group A of the 2021-2022 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in Nagoya, China's Ren Ziwei won the championship with a time of 1:26.297. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Xiaoyi
Looking at the World Cup sub-stations before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Ren Ziwei's performance was relatively stable, accumulating 5 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze in the four World Cup matches, and the minor events included 500 meters, 1000 meters and 1500 meters. From the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics regrettably stopping in the 500m semifinals, to becoming a multi-faceted gold rush for the men's team, ren Ziwei was more mature in mentality and technology in the preparation cycle of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Beijing Winter Olympics will be the stage for him to make a name for himself.
On November 27, 2021, China's Wu Dajing (front) won the gold medal in the men's 500m race at the 2021-2022 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in the Netherlands. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
Judging from the recent performance, Wu Dajing's performance in the men's 500 meters has fluctuated. He was sent off at the Beijing leg in this season's World Cup; failed to qualify for the semi-finals at Nagoya; finished fourth in Hungary; and returned to the podium in the final leg. The Beijing Winter Olympics will be Wu Dajing's third Winter Olympics, and for this veteran, adjusting his state and mentality is a decisive condition.
South Korea's men's team leader Hwang Dae-hyun won 3 gold and 1 silver in the World Cup and had a lot of gold in both the 500m and 1000m events, while Park Jang-hyuk won two bronze medals in the 1500m. In addition, the brothers Liu Shaolin and Liu Shaoang, who achieved zero breakthroughs in short track speed skating gold medals for Hungary at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, continued their good form in the preparation cycle of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and they defeated Wu Dajing and Ren Ziwei in the Hungarian race.
In terms of men's relay, the Canadian team has won the World Cup relay championship in Nagoya and Budapest, and it is not easy for the Chinese team to successfully reach the top.
Strong enemies around the short track women's team seek new breakthroughs
Compared with the brilliant achievements of the past Few Winter Olympics, the competitiveness of today's Chinese women's short track speed skating team in various sports has declined, and the Beijing Winter Olympics is a big test for women's teams.
In recent years, the overall strength of the Dutch and Italian women's teams has improved a lot. Among them, Dutchman Schulting became the top four players in the overall standings in all three individual events this season, especially in hungary last year's World Cup, where she achieved the feat of winning 3 gold medals in the women's single event. She also helped the Dutch team win three consecutive times in the 3,000m relay event.
Coincidentally, the Italian women's team has also performed very strongly recently. Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 500m champion Fang Tana has remained stable this season, with her worst result in the 500m world cup race as runner-up, and as the record holder of the most short track speed skating medals in the history of the Winter Olympics, she will lead the Italian team to win.
Although the level of the old rival South Korea has declined in recent years, the overall strength can not be underestimated. Cui Minjing won 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze in this season's World Cup, and rising star Li Youbin, who pushed Shu Erting to the first place in the 1500-meter single standings, is also a strong contender for the gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Mixed relay to attack with all its might and strive for a "good start"
On October 24, 2021, in the 2021-2022 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup Beijing 2000m Mixed Relay Race held at the Beijing Capital Gymnasium, the Chinese team won the championship with a time of 2:37.923. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cao Can
The Mixed Group Relay is a new event at the Beijing Winter Olympics. According to the rules, each team consists of two players, male and female players skate the first two sticks, male team members skate the last two sticks, the same gender players can slide different numbers of sticks in the two rounds, and the number of sticks cannot be exchanged between male and female players. The athletes skated a total of 2,000 meters and 18 laps. In terms of competition rounds, there are preliminaries, semi-finals and finals, and different players can be sent from each team to participate in different rounds, but the total number of participants is capped at 4 men and 4 women.
In the World Cup in Beijing, the world record was rewritten three times in 4 days. In the end, the Chinese team, composed of Wu Dajing, Ren Ziwei, Fan Kexin and Zhang Yuting, won the championship with a time of 2:37.923. In the following 3 World Cup matches, the Chinese team continued the strong performance of the project, winning 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze respectively.
On February 5, the first competition day after the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, let us look forward to the Chinese short track speed skating relay team to stage "China Speed" at the Capital Gymnasium.