On May 11, at the unveiling ceremony of the 1,000-day countdown to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics held at the Hebei Olympic Sports Center, Li Jianrou, the women's 500m short track speed skating champion of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the head coach of the Hebei short track speed skating team and the image ambassador of Hebei Ice and Snow Sports, read out the proposal. After the unveiling ceremony, the reporter conducted an exclusive interview with Li Jianrou.
Reporter: May 11 is the 1,000-day countdown to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, what does this mean?
Li Jianrou: 1,000 days, it seems that the time is still relatively long, but for our coaches and athletes, it is actually very tense, and we must seize every minute and second to prepare and train. We are always working hard and sticking to our goals, including every training session, every movement, every way of gliding, etc. will be more rigorous and meticulous.
Reporter: What is the current development of ice and snow sports in Hebei?
Li Jianrou: Our Hebei Province set up the winter project relatively late, but the development speed is still very fast, now there are 17 teams, the strength of personnel and reserves is still good, I personally feel that by 2022, it should be able to achieve a more ideal result.
Reporter: What made you choose to be the head coach of the Hebei Short Track Speed Skating Team?
Li Jianrou: One is my relationship with Hebei, and the other is that I am willing to make my own contribution to ice and snow sports. My ancestral home is Wuyi County, Hengshui, and there are still many relatives there. The opportunity to coach in Hebei was in 2016 when I registered in Hebei for cross-border cross-border disciplines and became a snowboard slope obstacle course athlete. Later, we set up a short track speed skating team in Hebei, and I just hope that through my special project, especially the experience of 22 years of speed skating, I will pass on to our small team members to cultivate more talents for Hebei short track speed skating, not only to prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but also to prepare for the 2026 and even 2030 Winter Olympics.
Reporter: Can you tell us about the Hebei short track speed skating team?
Li Jianrou: For our short track speed skating team, I am very confident. Hebei Short Track Speed Skating Team was established in June 2018, in February this year, our children have 4 national second-level athletes, 1 is a national first-class athlete, in the recent Second Youth Congress, also achieved good results. I hope that through my efforts and team cooperation, our children will reach the peak of their individual sports careers in a short period of time.
Reporter: What are your expectations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics?
Li Jianrou: I hope that through the holding of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the ice and snow project will be more popular across the country and more teenagers will participate.
(Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reporter Ren Li)