Dutch celebrities talk about how it feels to participate in the Winter Olympics: just like the ice rink in their hometown!

[Global Times reporter Zhuang Xiong] "Speed skating women's 3000 meters Olympic record was broken" "two Dutch athletes have successively set new speed skating men's 1500 meters Olympic records"... On the four competition days before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon" staged a record-breaking drama every day. Naturally, this is inseparable from the efforts of athletes to constantly push the limit, and the ice surface of the venue, which is known as the "fastest ice", may also help.

As the largest ice surface in Asia so far, the ice surface of the "Ice Ribbon" covers an area of 12,000 square meters, and it is difficult to achieve temperature uniformity in the past. However, according to Shao Yi, head of the ice-making team at the venue, the "Ice Ribbon" innovatively adopts carbon dioxide transcritical direct-cooling ice-making technology, so that the ice surface temperature difference is controlled within 0.5 degrees Celsius, which is lower than the 1.5 degrees Celsius standard proposed by the Olympic Organizing Committee, which is conducive to athletes to create good results.

For the ice team, ice monitoring is definitely an important task, because the ice surface state will fluctuate as the temperature, humidity and even the number of people and landscape arrangements inside the venue change. An important part of monitoring is measuring the thickness of the ice surface. "Whether it's a straight or a curve, the ice thickness must be controlled at 2.5 cm to 3 cm to ensure flatness. Where the ice surface is thinner, the watering truck will sprinkle more water, and vice versa, sprinkle less water, and the ice knife will shovel the ice and the knife will be deeper." Shao Yi introduced.

The high quality of the ice surface brought about by such meticulous maintenance is also recognized by top athletes. Kroll, a Dutch star who won the silver medal in the men's 1500m in speed skating on February 8, told a special reporter from the Global Times after the game that he felt that the ice surface was a little soft on the first day of training, but then it felt better and better, "The ice surface was adjusted very well, and when I played today, (the ice surface felt) like the ice rink in my hometown."

Canadian expert Mark Maiser is the central figure in Shao Yi's team. He is not only highly skilled, but also makes the Chinese team feel the real "craftsman spirit". "He loves the ice as much as he does for his own children, and never allows unrelated people to go on the ice." Seeing an inconspicuous little black dot on the ice will be dealt with immediately. Shao Yi revealed that Maiser passed on his skills to the Chinese side, "After the Winter Olympics, we will strive to make the 'ice ribbon' continue to become the 'fastest ice', and we also hope that there will be more high-quality ice rinks in China."