Winter Olympics Women's Single Snowmobile Shaanxi women's general Huai Mingming opened up the territory

It was her Winter Olympic debut

After the first two rounds of skating, it is temporarily ranked fifth

Today's final two rounds will be as good as they can to hit the medals

It was also the sport's debut at the Winter Olympics

What she and her teammates have achieved

It will set a precedent and lay the foundation for those who come after

The Beijing Winter Olympics Women's Single Bobsleigh Race was held at the Yanqing National Bobsleigh Center on the 13th, which was the first appearance of the women's single bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics. After the first two rounds of skating, American Kelly Humphreys was temporarily ranked first, and China's Huai Mingming and Ying Qing were temporarily ranked fifth and eighth respectively.

The women's single snowmobile is a new event in the Winter Olympics, and each participating driver needs to make four slides in the two-day course, and the one with the least total time will win the championship. A total of 20 players from 16 countries and regions competed in the event. Huai Mingming, the first registered athlete of the Shaanxi Snowmobile Program who graduated from Beijing Sport University, is the main player of the Chinese snow team, and she won the 4th place in the women's double snowmobile event and the 4th place in the women's single snowmobile event in the 2021/2022 International Snowmobile Federation World Cup in Higuda, Latvia, held in early January this year, creating the best record for Chinese athletes in the World Cup.

On the morning of the 13th, Huai Mingming finally ushered in her Winter Olympic debut, she took the lead in the first round of the game and achieved a time of 1 minute 05 seconds 18, after the first round, the ranking temporarily ranked 6th. In the second round of the game, although teammate Ying Qing had some mistakes, but Huai Mingming's play was still very stable, two rounds of fighting, she also overtook Ying Qing with a total score of 2 minutes 10 seconds and 90 seconds, ranking among the top five, and Ying Qing ranked 8th with a score of 2 minutes 11 seconds 15.

After two rounds of skating, Humphreys was temporarily in first place with a time of 2:09.10, while Canada's Christina De Bruin and Germany's Laura Nolte were second and third.

"My first time at the Winter Olympics made me both excited and a little nervous, plus there was a corner in the second round of the skate that wasn't handled well, so today's result wasn't particularly good." Huai Mingming, who will celebrate his 27th birthday next month, is eager to achieve good results at the Winter Olympics on his doorstep. She said the last two rounds of the glide would continue to work hard and do their best to complete the race.

Huai Mingming was originally a track and field athlete, in 2016 "cross-border" joined the national women's snow team, after years of training, now Huai Ming has been able to master her snowmobile, recalling the first experience on the track, still vividly remembered, "At that time nervous to death, is to go down after it, the eyes are blank, do not know anything, and then go down." The coach just lets you skate all the time, the coach tells you what to say, the technique doesn't understand anything, and then you can only go down and slide. ”

China established the snowmobile national team in 2016, and there are still some gaps between the project and the world's advanced level. On the 14th, the last two rounds of the women's single snowmobile will be held to determine the gold medal in the event, and the winner will also become the first women's single snowmobile gold medalist in the history of the Winter Olympics. Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency, etc

Sit up and slide down?

Snowmobiling is not so simple!

When it comes to snowmobiles, many people may first think of Santa Claus driving a sleigh, but snowmobiling is much more exciting than Santa Claus's sleigh. In simple terms, snowmobiling refers to a sport that rides a special, steerable snowmobile and glides down a narrow, twisted, inclined ice track, also known as a luge.

The snowmobiles were first involved by the rich and adventurers

The bobsleigh project originated in Switzerland, and at the end of the 19th century, the Swiss installed a steering device on the bobsleigh and created the snowmobile. In 1897, the world's first snowmobile club was founded in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Initially, the bobsleigh was wooden, but the skid was soon replaced by a steel sled. In 1923, the International Federation of Snowmobiles and Steel Frame Snowmobiles was founded. At the first Winter Olympics held the following year, snowmobiles were listed as official events.

Snowmobiling was first played mainly by groups of wealthy and adventurers, who on weekends held snowmobile races or party pastimes in alpine resorts. By the 1950s, however, snowmobiling was gradually attracting more people. As the importance of starting was recognized, athletes in athletics, gymnastics and other sports began to be absorbed into the snowmobile event in large quantities because they could give a strong thrust at the beginning of the competition.

The snowmobile is not as simple as sitting on it and sliding down

Snowmobile competitions are generally divided into three race specifications: single snowmobile, double snowmobile and four-person snowmobile. Single-person bobsleigh sports have one player controlling the direction and brakes, while the athletes of the double bobsleigh are divided into two functions: helmsman and brakeman.

The helmsman is mainly responsible for adjusting the direction of the steering wheel so that the snowmobile runs smoothly on the track. As a helmsman, you must have both the skills to steer a sled and master the timing to drive smoothly along a path that generates maximum speed. Keep in mind that in a speed of up to 150 kilometers per hour, any slight turn can have an impact on the race situation.

The brakeman's task is to push the snowmobile with the helmsman at the starting point, so that the snowmobile can get a faster initial speed. They should keep every corner in mind during the driving process and be prepared for the brakes. After the snowmobile passes the finish line, the brakes should be quickly pulled to make the snowmobile stop safely. During the drive, his or her body also needs to remain inclined with the curves, making the snowmobile lighter and maintaining better balance.

The two athletes added to the four-person snowmobile as left and right pushers will push the snowmobile on both sides of the snowmobile when the snowmobile starts, giving the snowmobile a faster initial speed, and then jump into the body in turn according to the order of the helmsman, the two middle team members and the brakeman, and quickly put away the handlebars and slide in a sitting position.

In general, the departure link is very important, even if the advantage of only 0.1 seconds at the time of departure may be further expanded to 0.3 seconds in the sprint stage. When competing, the gap between the champion and the runner-up is often only a few hundredths of a second.

The difficulty of a bobsleigh race is related to the angle of the curve

As one of the most thrilling events of the Winter Olympic Games, the high-speed operation of the wind is the biggest attraction of the snowmobile project.

A perfect snowmobile race, to take into account the excitement of the race and the safety of athletes, so the design requirements of the track are very strict. The track is mostly set in the mountains and is between 1300 and 2000 meters in length. The track of the snowmobile generally consists of 15 to 20 curves and a width of 1.4 meters. There are parapets on both sides of the track, which are 1.4 meters high on the inside and 2 meters to 7 meters high on the outside. The radius at the turn of the track and the average gradient of the slide also need to be within the specified range, and the radius cannot be less than 20 meters.

The difficulty of a bobsleigh race is related to the angle of the curve. In the race, the contestants should skillfully use the potential energy brought by their own gravity and the kinetic energy of the initial speed of the snowmobile to complete the 1500-meter "ground flight" in just one or two minutes. From the beginning, all kinds of sharp turns, sharp stops, but also to overcome the constraints of centrifugal force. It's a real race of speed and excitement for both the players themselves and the audience. Bells

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Snow F1

There is no auxiliary device, only by pedaling ice or pulling ice boost, speeding down the ice track with a drop of 100 meters and dense curves, with a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour. Bobsleigh bobsleigh is not only the fastest event in the Winter Olympics, but also the highest risk factor, the players need to bear several times the pressure of their own weight when they travel rapidly, testing body control, high-speed reaction, and testing whether there is a "brave heart".

Also known as the Snow F1, the snowmobile resembles a metal beetle and costs a lot of money, with an Olympic-standard four-person snowmobile costing more than $30,000. The snowmobile consists of a chassis, a cockpit, a coaster, a protective cover, a steering rudder, and brakes. The bobsleigh styling and consumables maximize the use of aerodynamics to reduce wind resistance.

The wind and power is the biggest attraction of the snowmobile project, the runner's pace is unified to push the car to help run, and then the fish jumps on the car in turn, and the whole action is flowing, all in one go, and it is also very ornamental. The slight gap created by the assisted boarding is likely to change the championship attribution.

Competition venues

The National Bobsleigh Center was built at the southern foot of Xiaohaituo Mountain in Yanqing, like a silver dragon coiled around the ridge, known as the "Snow Dragon". This is the first bobsleigh track in China, the third in Asia and the 17th in the world to meet the olympic standards, with a design maximum speed of 134.4 kilometers per hour. The track is not based on absolute speed as the primary pursuit, but in the design of the corners, is one of the most tested corners at present. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, it undertook the competition of all three sliding events of bobsleigh, steel frame bobsleigh and bobsleigh, resulting in 10 gold medals.

Ice surface requirements

Different projects and areas have different requirements for ice surfaces, and the ice making methods for different wall sections are also different, and the ice making skills are very demanding. After the establishment of the ice making team of the Bobsleigh Center of the Winter Olympics, he went to Pyeongchang, South Korea to learn ice making techniques, and the ice surface of the track was jointly completed by Chinese ice makers and international ice makers. Icemaking is only one of the tasks of the ice-making team, and the maintenance of the track is also very important. In order to protect the race equipment, there must be no dust on the surface of the track; in order to ensure the speed of the slide, the surface of the track cannot be frosted; in order to ensure the safety of the players, there must be no cracks in the ice surface... Ice conditions have a huge impact on the game. Ice teams must always check the track, remove dust, crushed ice and frost during a short break in the race, and repair cracks in the ice surface in time to ensure that the race is conducted safely and fairly. From track ice making and ice repair, to ice repair and cleaning, the ice team has been constantly ensuring the Winter Olympics.

Number of gold medals

The bobsleigh event produced four gold medals, namely men's double, quadruple, women's singles and women's double.

Weight restrictions

The weight of the men's double snowmobile shall not be less than 170 kg, the four-person snowmobile shall not be less than 210 kg, the women's double bobsleigh shall not be less than 165 kg, and the single bobsleigh shall not be less than 162 kg. In terms of total weight (including the weight of the players), the maximum number of men's double snowmobiles shall not exceed 390 kg, the maximum number of four-person snowmobiles shall not exceed 630 kg, the women's double snowmobiles shall not exceed 325 kg, and the single snowmobile shall not exceed 245 kg. If the total weight does not reach the upper limit, the runner can counterweight the car body under the premise of ensuring safety. synthesis