Wang Qiang in the men's individual sprint (free technical) qualifiers for cross-country skiing on February 8. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Liu
On February 9, Zhao Jiawen competed in the Nordic two individual ski jumping standard table competitions. Photo by Zhan Yan, Xinhua News Agency
On February 9, the Beijing Winter Olympic Snow Sports Nordic Biathlon, Snowboard U-shaped Venue Skills and other competitions were carried out, and the efforts and progress of China's ice and snow sports were also displayed in front of people's eyes - the Figure of the Chinese Team appeared for the first time in the Nordic Biathlon of the Winter Olympics, and the young player Zhao Jiawen challenged this extremely difficult project; the Chinese team achieved a full quota of snowboarding U-shaped venue skills for the first time, with 4 male and female team members "flying and flipping" in the track.
From Gu Ailing and Su Yiming winning gold and silver in snow sports, to the gap in the participation of many snow sports being filled, through the hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the development of ice and snow sports in the mainland has been promoted by leaps and bounds. Strengths and weaknesses, fill in the gaps, snow projects are catching up.
"Ice is strong and snow is weak" has changed
Before Gu Ailing won the gold medal in the women's freestyle ski jump on February 8, the last Winter Olympic gold medal in China's snow sports dates back 16 years. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Han Xiaopeng won the gold medal in men's aerial skills in freestyle skiing. Before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese athletes won a total of 13 Winter Olympic gold medals, the only one from the snow sports.
In fact, in the Winter Olympics, there are far more snow events than ice events. Of the 109 minor events of the Beijing Winter Olympics, 76 snow events accounted for more than double the number of ice events. For many years, the mainland ice and snow sports "ice is strong and snow is weak", but at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese players showed a vigorous impact on the snow event. Post-00s players such as Gu Ailing and Su Yiming not only contributed their own strength to the development of their respective participating projects, but also showed their confidence and calmness and courage to break through in the competition, showing the infinite possibilities for the future development of the project.
Cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and ski jumping will enhance their strength by taking the opportunity of preparing for the Winter Olympics, and expand the scope and number of participants through scientific and technological assistance and cross-border cross-sports material selection. In the end, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing were fully participated, and ski jumping achieved the simultaneous appearance of men's and women's athletes at the Winter Olympics for the first time.
Alpine skier Xu Mingfu was scared the first time he stepped onto the speed track. After several years of hard training, he successfully stood on the Beijing Winter Olympics, "The Beijing Winter Olympics provide an opportunity for the development of alpine skiing, we have taken the first step, I believe that the future will be better and better." ”
Cross-country skier Wang Qiang is only one step away from creating the best result in the men's sprint event, and the performance of surpassing multiple seeded players in the competition is amazing. Unable to reach the semi-finals, he said on social media: "Cross-country skiing in China will soon rise. ”
The follow-up matches are still enough to watch
On February 13, Gu Ailing will play in the women's steeplechase qualification for freestyle skiing, after which she will also participate in the women's U-shaped track skills competition. On February 14, Su Yiming will switch to the men's big jumping event on snowboarding, and he is very confident in the competition.
In the freestyle slope obstacle course, Gu Ailing's main competitor is Estonian team Sildarlu. At the 2020 WinterGreen Olympics in Lausanne, Gu Ailing won gold medals in both the U-shaped field skill event and the big jump event, and the only silver medal was lost to Sildaru in the slope obstacle course. In the U-shaped field skills event, Canada's 29-year-old Cathy Sharp is the PyeongChang Winter Olympic champion and a strong opponent of Gu Ailing in this competition.
In the freestyle skiing aerial skills event, the Chinese team will participate in a strong lineup: Xu Mengtao, women's silver medalist at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Kong Fanyu, women's bronze medalist at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Jia Zongyang, the men's runner-up at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and Qi Guangpu, who is known for his difficulty, are all competitive. In the women's competition of the project, Pyeongchang Winter Olympic champion and Belarusian team Huskova and Australian team player Pierre are strong. In the men's division, Russian Olympic Committee athlete Maxim has won consecutive titles in four World Cup races this season. If the Chinese team players want to achieve good results, they must work hard and work hard.
On February 10, the air skill mixed team competition that entered the Winter Olympics for the first time will determine the champion, and the strength of the Chinese team's participants is balanced, which is worth looking forward to.
The Olympic legacy fuels development
On February 9, the Beijing Winter Olympics freestyle skiing men's big jump event decided the champion, Shougang Ski Jump, which is quite an "industrial style" arena, attracted the world's attention. The Shougang Ski Jump will not only become an iconic venue for the Big Jump in the future, but also a new starting point for the Chinese team's players to continue to forge ahead.
The first-class venue will provide strong support for the development of snow projects in China. Today, Chongli in Zhangjiakou Has Built 7 Ski Resorts, with a total of 169 ski slopes with a total length of 162 kilometers, of which 10 high-level ski slopes have passed international certification.
In the view of Ni Huizhong, director of the Winter Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sports, the Snow Sports Players of the Chinese Team participating in the Winter Olympics are valuable assets, "these athletes are the 'Tinder', they will become the basic force of the provinces to participate, become future coaches, managers, and drive more people to participate in ice and snow sports."
It is believed that driven by outstanding athletes such as Gu Ailing and Su Yiming, more teenagers will enter the ski resort and step on snowboard. Gu Ailing said after the competition: "There are now more than 300 million people in China participating in ice and snow sports, which is a surprise to me. I hope that through my own actions, I will inspire more people to contact ice and snow sports, especially young people. ”
People's Daily ( 2022-02-10 09 edition)