Lamor Lin Xiaocheng, a vigorous young man, Chinese short track speed skating "blood exchange" to create lineup thickness

For the Chinese short track speed skating team, the 2023 World Championships have surprises and regrets.

In the men's 5,000m relay in the finale event, the Chinese team won the gold medal, but looking back on the entire event, it also became the only gold medal won by the Chinese team at this World Championships.

Compared with the Netherlands, which won 5 golds, and the host South Korea, which won 2 golds, the Chinese team, which won 1 gold and 1 silver, is not a strong pole.

Of course, this result is not surprising - when deciding to send out a rookie squad, it means that the main goal of the Chinese team in this tournament is to train the team.

At the beginning of the new Winter Olympic cycle, the Chinese team needs to build a thicker squad, which will be the next direction the team needs to work on.

The Chinese team won the gold medal in the 5,000-meter relay.

Newcomers strike and complete the goal

For the audience who follow the Chinese short track speed skating team, the moment they see the list of participants in this World Championships, it is destined to be a competition that mainly trains newcomers.

The men's team sent Li Wenlong, Lin Xiaocheng, Liu Guanyi, Song Jiahua, Zhong Yuchen, and the women's team sent Gong Li, Wang Xinran, Wang Ye, Zang Yize, Zhang Chutong, on the whole - this list is mostly newcomers, by no means the strongest team at the moment.

Among all 10 team members, only Li Wenlong, Lin Xiaocheng, Zhang Chutong and Zang Yize have experience in the Winter Olympics or World Championships, and the rest of the team members are basically newcomers who have only emerged this season.

However, in the six World Cup races before the World Championships, the young Chinese team has won four golds, three silvers and three bronzes, showing exciting potential.

As head coach Zhang Jing says, it's top events like the World Cup that make young people improve: "I can see that they are gradually improving, especially a few young athletes. There is still a big gap between their normal level and the international level, but they are constantly narrowing this gap through hard work. We have to continue our efforts. ”

Lin Hsiao-chan (first from left) during the game.

Coming to the World Championships, this team faces a lot of unknowns.

In fact, the last time the Chinese team participated in the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships was in 2019, after which the event was suspended in 2020, and the Chinese team did not participate twice in a row in 2021 and 2022.

As a result, the Chinese team only has one place in each of the six individual events, and the team members need to advance in the preliminary round of each event to increase the number of places for the team in the next competition.

Also, consider the natural disadvantages when playing in Korea...

In the end, the Chinese players successfully advanced to the round of 32 in all individual competitions, thus ensuring that next year's World Championships can get two places in the corresponding individual events - this pre-competition goal has been well accomplished.

Team leader Liu Chenyu said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency: "This World Championships we mainly focus on training newcomers to prepare for the 2026 Winter Olympics. ”

Lin Xiaocheng crossed the finish line.

"Model Worker" Lin Xiaocheng

Looking back at the entire World Championships, the Chinese team actually had a chance to win one more gold medal - in the men's 500 meters, China's Lin Xiaocheng crossed the finish line first, but was judged to be fouled and missed the podium because he did not wear a timer.

It is extremely regrettable to lose the gold medal in this way. After the game, Lin Xiaocheng also said:

"Because I didn't wear a timer, there was no timekeeping in the race. I'm really sorry to miss out on the gold medal and I'm ashamed of the ice fans who have always supported me and my coach support team. ”

Lin Xiaocheng apologized on Weibo.

Such a mistake is a lesson and wake-up call for the athletes and even the entire team. But even if he missed out on the gold medal due to an accident, Lin Xiaocheng's importance to this Chinese team is obvious enough.

Looking back at the event, the two medals won by the Chinese team this time were both participated by Lin Xiaocheng - he was one of the members of the men's 5,000m relay and the mixed relay event, which won the silver medal.

In addition, he also participated in the men's 500m and 1000m individual events, which can be called the "model worker" of the Chinese team in this competition.

In previous World Cup races, he won the men's 500m twice and the men's 5,000m relay once – contributing three of China's four World Cup gold medals.

Junior General Zhong Yuchen.

It has not yet reached the world-class level

Under the leadership of strong athletes represented by Lin Xiaocheng, rookie athletes have grown rapidly through competition, which is the growth plan of the current Chinese short track speed skating team.

For example, Zhong Yuchen, who played with the national team for the first time this season, is one of the representative figures.

He skated throughout the season, handing over a total of 4 golds, 5 silvers and 1 bronze, and ranked first in the Chinese athletes' standings at this season's World Cup (Lin Xiaocheng was affected by the lack of points in the number of games).

Among these gains, in addition to winning a relay gold medal with his teammates, he also included a silver medal in the men's 500m at the World Cup in Dresden, which he won in his first international competition.

Summing up the season that has just ended, the young man's testimonials expressed the momentum of many new generation athletes:

"This experience has made me see what I need to improve, and I will redouble my efforts in the future to fight for this cohesive team and for the country I love!"

Group photo of the Chinese team.

In fact, although the Chinese team did not have many gold medals at this World Championships, it was already the team's return to the top podium after the 2018 and 2019 World Championships without gold.

"Although the Chinese team won the gold medal in the men's relay, it is necessary to face up to the gap, the Chinese team has not yet reached the world-class level, and it needs further training and improvement."

"What the Chinese team needs most at present is to be down-to-earth, focus on training, focus on the field, and constantly improve their competitive level." Team leader Liu Chenyu said.

"The young Chinese team still needs to continue to train and grow, and I believe that from next year until 2026, Chinese short track speed skating will get better and better."