The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will open on February 4, with the first gold medal day in short track speed skating the next day. With the "gold content" accounting for up to 10 of the 13 gold medals in China's ice and snow events, the short track speed skating team has undoubtedly become the main force of the Chinese team to compete for gold and silver.
Photo by Liu Ping, reporter of the Winter Olympics
Since Yang Yang achieved a "zero breakthrough" in the Gold Medal of the Chinese Winter Olympics at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, the Chinese short track speed skating team has maintained the record of seeing gold in the first session. However, since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics won four gold medals and reached the peak, the number of Gold Wins won by China in the past two Winter Olympics has continued to decline, and only Wu Dajing won one gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. After several twists and turns, in the 2021-2022 World Cup, the Chinese team that experienced an adjustment period finally showed its home base, and from the four races, the strong team's foundation is still there. In terms of the short track speed skating lineup of this Winter Olympic Games, the Chinese team and the Dutch team are the "biggest winners", not only taking 10 Olympic "tickets", but also getting three qualifications in each single event. According to the performance and achievements of the Chinese short track speed skating team in various events before the Winter Olympics, the current ranking is from strongest to sub-strong, such as mixed team 2000m relay, men's team 5000m relay, men's 1500m Ren Ziwei, men's 500m Wu Dajing and women's team 3000m relay. Among them, in the nine minor events of short track speed skating competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the Chinese team is the strongest in the new mixed relay event. It just so happens that the mixed team 2000m relay event will be decided for gold on February 5. Previously, in the four World Cup competitions this season, the Chinese team won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, and currently ranks first in the world in the points of the project, and the main players of the Chinese team in the mixed team 2000m relay event are Ren Ziwei, Wu Dajing (Sun Long), Fan Kexin and Zhang Yuting. If the Chinese team takes the lead in hitting the line, the first gold of the Chinese team at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be generated at around 21:50 on February 5.
In other short-track speed skating events at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Wu Dajing's dominance has declined after winning the men's 500m title at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and this season's World Cup has been delayed in finding the best form. However, as the season progressed, Wu Dajing's ability rebounded significantly, and he finally won the first gold of the season in the fourth World Cup. At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, he is still a championship competition force that cannot be ignored in the men's 500 meters event.
At the same time, the biggest gain of the Chinese team in the Beijing Winter Olympic cycle is undoubtedly Ren Ziwei. In the four World Cup matches, Ren Ziwei is the Chinese athlete with the most single finals, reaching the top three times in the 1500 meters and 1000 meters. Because of his existence, the Chinese team also has the strength to compete for gold in these two small events. In addition to the three men's individual events, the Chinese team also has strong strength in the men's team 5000m relay and the women's team 3000m relay event, and the best results in this season's sub-station races are silver medals and gold medals respectively.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Li Yan led the Chinese team to win four gold medals in the women's event. However, since the beginning of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic cycle, the competitiveness of Chinese women's athletes in individual competitions has declined, and the number of finalists this season is countless. However, short track speed skating is a project full of surprises and variables, and it does not rule out the possibility of Fan Kexin, Zhang Yuting, Qu Chunyu and other famous players to create miracles.
On February 5, if the Chinese team can successfully win the gold medal in the mixed team 2000m relay event, it will not only become the first gold medal for the Chinese team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, but also drive other short track speed skating events to enhance their confidence in impacting their best results.
For more information, stay tuned to the Winter Olympics.
Client The Winter Olympics | Reporter Li Ge
Edited by Geng Yinxin
Process Editor Wu Yue