At 16:30 Beijing time on February 5, the beijing 2022 Winter Olympics speed skating competition will be held on the first day of competition at the National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon". In the women's 3,000m competition, China's Han Mei and Ahnal will compete. World record holders and Czech celebrities Sablikova, Canadian double sisters Brondin and Weidmann, and Dutch player Schauten will all compete for the first gold medal in the speed skating competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The world record in the women's 3000m was 3:52.02, set by Czech Sablikova in the 2019 Salt Lake City Speed Skating World Cup Finals, the Olympic record of 3:57.70, set by Germany's Peschstein at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. A total of 20 runners participated in the women's 3000m competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, divided into 10 groups, each divided into inner and outer roads.
Akhnar
China's Ahnar and Olympic record holder Peshstein were in the first group, with Ahnal starting in the inner lane and his opponent in the outer lane. It is worth mentioning that Peshstein is a 49-year-old veteran, and Akhnar is only 22 years old, and this group of matches can be called a "showdown between old and young". Ranked 27th in the world, Ahnar competed in three speed skating World Cups this season, finishing eighth in Group B in Poland, 11th in Norway and sixth in Calgary, and set a personal best.
Peşistein is now ranked 20th in the world and has competed in four World Cups this season, finishing 16th in Group A in Poland. In terms of strength and experience, Peshstein is above Ahnar. However, Ahnar has good physical strength, as long as the first half is not thrown away too much by the opponent, the sprint stage is expected to surpass the opponent.
Han mei
Han Mei set off in the seventh group, and the opponent in the same group was Belarusian Zujeva. Han Mei is ranked 15th in the world and has a world cup best time this season for 12th place in Calgary. Zueva is ranked 11th in the world, with a best result of 9th place at the World Cup in Calgary. There is still a certain gap between the two sides in terms of strength, and Han Mei needs to do a good job in the starting link, skate according to his own rhythm, and cannot be deflected by the rhythm of his opponent. Zuyeva is good at the back-end force, and Han Mei needs to pay special attention.
In terms of strength, neither Han Mei nor Ah naar has the strength to impact the medal. Sablikova, Brontin and Weidmann, Holland's Schauten and Italy's Lolo Brigida will be favourites to win the title. This season, Schauten has won three consecutive World Cup women's 3,000m titles, Wiedermann is relatively stable at the top of the World Cup table, Lolo Brigida is fourth, and Sablikova and Brontin have not yet won the title this season.
Sablikova
In addition, Japan's Miho Takagi and Ayano Sato will also participate in the competition. It is worth mentioning that the faster the grouping of the speed skating competition, the stronger the starting point. Brontin and Sablikova in group eight, Weidmann and Norway's Viklond in group nine, and Lolobrigida and Shaoten in group 10 will all have strong dialogues. Not surprisingly, the gold medal will be produced between the last three groups of players. (Huang Kai)