Beijing Winter Olympics Special Report丨China Red Shine "Snow Dragon"

In the men's steel frame snowmobile competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese athletes stood on the podium of the Winter Olympics for the first time——

China's red shining "Snow Dragon"

On February 11, the men's steel frame bobsleigh competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics decided the medal ownership at the National Bobsleigh Center "Snow Dragon" located in Yanqing Division. In the final competition, the Chinese players performed well, and Yan Wengang won the third place with a total time of 4:01.77 and reached the podium. This is the first time that Chinese steel frame snowmobilers have stood on the podium of the Winter Olympics. Another Chinese player, Yin Zheng, was also eye-catching, setting a new record for the fastest start on the track he had set in the first round with 4.58 seconds in the fourth round, and finishing fifth with a time of 4:02.13.

The championship was won by the traditional german team, Christopher Grotecher won the championship in 4:01.01 and Axel Juncker finished second in 4:01.67.

According to the rules of the Winter Olympics, the steel frame snowmobile event will be raced in 4 rounds. The results of the 4-wheeled glide are added together, and the shortest time wins the gold medal.

Steel frame snowmobile, fight is fast. In steel-framed snowmobiles with an average speed of 120 km/h, competitors usually decide the winner by a hundredth of a second. Since the weight of the two Chinese players is not dominant, there is a certain gap between the ability to accelerate in the ski and the top foreign players, so grasping the start and minimizing the error rate in the taxi is the key to their good results.

In the first two rounds of competition on the 10th, Yan Wengang ranked third with a total score of 2:01.08, and Yin Zheng ranked seventh.

In today's third round of skating, Yan Wengang continued his outstanding performance in the first two rounds, skating a time of 1:00.54, ranking fourth in total. Yin Zheng's overall performance was 3:01.85, ranking seventh.

At the critical moment, there is only a battle. In the final round, Yan Wengang and Yin Zheng both played well, both skating their fastest speed in this Olympic Games. This deeply touched the audience. They waved the flag in their hands and cheered enthusiastically. At this moment, The Chinese red is flying passionately in the "Snow Dragon".

The steel-framed snowmobile, also known as the pitch-down ice sled, originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland. It was listed as an official event at the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. However, due to its high risk, it was cancelled twice. It was not until the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City that the steel frame bobsleigh was once again an official event, and a women's event was added.

The steel frame snowmobile movement started late in China, and the national team was officially formed in 2015. At that time, China lacked training tracks, no professional coaches, and even less competitive athletes, facing many challenges. At this time, some young athletes from athletics, gymnastics and other sports joined the steel frame snow team. After hard training, coupled with high athletic talent, young players represented by Geng Wenqiang have made great progress.

At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Geng Wenqiang appeared at the Winter Olympics and became the first person in the Winter Olympics of the Chinese Steel Frame Snow Team. Moreover, Geng Wenqiang broke into the final round for the first time and finally won the thirteenth place.

From Geng Wenqiang, who single-handedly competed in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and won the thirteenth place, to Yan Wengang and Yin Zheng at the Beijing Winter Olympics, yan Wengang and Yin Zheng joined forces to compete and win medals, and China's steel frame snowmobile sports are striding to a new level.

(People's Liberation Army Daily, Yanqing, Beijing, February 11)

Author: Qiu Jianhui Ma Jing

Source: People's Liberation Army Daily