Chinanews.com, Beijing, November 11 (Liu Xingchen) "Every athlete must think and work hard to be the champion, and your result is the champion." At the media open day of the speed skating national training team held on the 6th, Li Yan, the head coach of the speed skating national training team, said. It's a concept she has always instilled in her teammates, and at Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Li is eager to lead her team to another gold medal in speed skating.
At the beginning of 2022, Gao Tingyu broke the Winter Olympics record with a time of 34.32 seconds and won the men's 500m speed skating championship at the Beijing Winter Olympics. It was the first time that a Chinese athlete won a gold medal in the men's speed skating event.
Data map: In the men's 500m speed skating final of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese player Gao Tingyu broke the Olympic record with a time of 34.32 seconds and won the championship. The picture shows Gao Tingyu at the award ceremony. Photo by China News Service reporter Li Jun
Since then, speed skating, known as "boulevard speed skating", has received more attention. From November 11th to 17th, the 19-2023 ISU Speed Skating World Cup Beijing Station will be held at the National Speed Skating Stadium "Ice Ribbon", which is also the first international top event ushered in by the "Ice Ribbon" after the Beijing Winter Olympics. There are six speed skating World Cup events this season, with Beijing being the second stop.
At the media open day, Li Yan interpreted the overall team structure of the speed skating national training team after the Beijing Winter Olympics. The list of speed skating national training teams for the new season continues the style of combining the old and the new, aiming to train the echelon with the old and the new, and improve the comprehensive strength of each sub-event. "In the past year, we have fully mobilized the young players to improve their fitness, and the seeds of the championship should be planted in the hearts of the young people."
The picture shows Li Yan mobilizing. Photo by Liu Xingchen
At present, the strength of the Chinese team in various events of speed skating is uneven. Except for the men's 500m event, the competitiveness of the other events is relatively weak. In Li Yan's view, improving the overall strength is a problem that the team needs to solve, "For athletes, every day you have to think about the champion, work hard to the champion, and your result is the champion." For this, young athlete Liu Bin has deep feelings, and he frankly said that he must be down-to-earth and do his best.
Looking forward to the Milan Winter Olympics in three years, Li Yan hopes that through training and competition, athletes can have the ability to participate in multiple events. "The team needs to climb step by step, and it's going to be very tough, but we want to." Talking about the goal, Li Yan said that the team will still aim for the gold medal. "There must be a gold medal goal, and only after setting the goal can the team work towards it and be able to make a breakthrough in the competition."
The photo shows athletes training on land. Photo by Liu Xingchen
In the list of the speed skating national training team, Gao Tingyu returned. Last season, he focused on resting and treating injuries and did not compete internationally. In May this year, Gao Tingyu had already started recovery training in Harbin with coach Liu Guangbin. After a 5-month absence, he will return to the "Blessed Land" National Speed Skating Stadium for the upcoming 21-2023 ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Beijing. In addition, Beijing Winter Olympics athletes including Ning Zhongyan, Han Mei, and Li Qishi will also appear.
In the 2023-24 season, the Chinese team won four quotas each in the women's 500m, 1000,1500m, 3000,5000m, 4,500m, and 1000,1500m, and four quotas each in the men's 4m, 5000,10000m, and <>,<>m, and two places each in the men's <>,<>m and <>,<>m, which did not get a quota place at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Ten days later, in the "Ice Ribbon", the world's best athletes will once again compete together. The Dutch star Schouten, who won the most gold medals in speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics, will also be in the field, while Japanese speed skating leader Miho Takagi will also participate. (ENDS)