The National Biathlon Centre on March 9 is a bit more lively than the previous competition days. The reporter came to the media room early in the morning and was already "hard to find", and the decibels of cheering from the audience outside the closed loop were obviously higher than in previous days. It can be seen that this day's game must be a combination of points of view and suspense.
On March 9, Zheng Peng celebrated winning the championship after the competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Bo
On this day, the National Biathlon Center will hold a total of 18 Paralympic cross-country skiing competitions, which is the most competition day at the venue during the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games. The sprint free technology event went from the qualifiers to the final, and a total of 6 gold medals were decided.
The sprint race is the most spectacular event in the Paralympic cross-country skiing event. Different from the middle and long distance competitions, before the final departure of the sprint event, according to the starting results of the previous round of the athletes and their respective levels, the conversion of the departure order and interval time is calculated, so the athlete's performance is the order of crossing the finish line, which also ensures the fair competition of athletes with different disability levels in the short distance event.
After 6 qualifying matches and 6 semi-finals, the final of the men's sprint sitting group began first, and 4 of the 6 athletes in the final circle were Chinese players, although there was a collective advantage, but the strength of foreign players should not be underestimated. Zheng Peng and Mao Zhongwu, the first two departures, took the lead and occupied the leading position, and Canadian athlete Cameron set off in the third place, chasing the Chinese players in the first two. The sprint sitting group only slid one lap, the whole 961 meters, so the athletes were not allowed to make any mistakes in the race, because the sliding distance was short, and any mistakes could be irreparable. Fortunately, Zheng Peng and Mao Zhongwu both maintained their advantage to the end with a steady and steady sliding, and Cameron ranked third. Two other athletes on the Chinese team, Liu Zixu and Wang Tao, slid past the finish line in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. After the game, Zheng Peng and Mao Zhongwu held snow poles in their hands and fisted each other, and the four athletes of the Chinese team wore five-star red flags together in the end zone.
Champion China Zheng Peng (second from left), runner-up China Mao Zhongwu (second from right) and teammates Liu Zixu (first from right) and Wang Tao after the men's sprint (sitting) final at the Beijing Winter Paralympic Paralympic Cross-Country Skiing on March 9. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Huhu
Immediately after, the women's competition began, Yang Hongqiong and Li Panpan set off in the first two, and the young player Wang Shiyu also entered the final. The women's division is also fiercely competitive, with American Gretch and Masters being the world's top athletes in this event, and their world rankings have been in the top two for many seasons, so they are today's gold medallists. In the past three World Championships, Masters has been the gold medalist in the women's sprint sitting group event. In the sprint stage, Masters showed a strong gliding ability, surpassing Li Panpan in second place, directly approaching Yang Hongqiong in the first place, and the audience also boiled up, cheering for Yang Hongqiong, who was sprinting, fortunately, she withstood the pressure and took the lead in rushing the line. Yang Hongqiong just won the gold medal in a long-distance race just a few days ago, and today she is repeating the footage of a few days ago.
On March 9, China's Yang Hongqiong was in the competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Guanyu
After the two finals, the Chinese team added two gold, one silver and one bronze, and the Chinese team continued to write history at the National Biathlon Center.