With the advent of winter, the world's ice and snow events have entered a peak period. In the past few days, from the "Ice Ribbon" to the "Snow Dragon", a number of top ice and snow events have been staged in China, opening the curtain of the "China Season" of ice and snow.
Chinese athletes set records in a row, and the Winter Olympics venues welcome home... From ice hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating and speed skating to snowboarding, freestyle skiing, alpine skiing and bobsleigh, more and more international competitions are being held in China, continuing the "ice and snow legend" of the "post-Winter Olympics era".
Back to the Ice Ribbon
Returning to the "Ice Ribbon", Gao Tingyu once again heard the audience shouting his name.
Recently, the 2023-2024 ISU Speed Skating World Cup was held at the National Speed Skating Hall in Beijing, and Gao Tingyu, who returned to the field, returned to the "blessed land" and finished fourth in the second competition of the men's 500m.
At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Gao Tingyu made history in the "Ice Ribbon" and won the first Winter Olympic gold medal for Chinese men's speed skating. After the Winter Olympics, Gao Tingyu entered a period of recuperation and missed all the games last season. Returning to the arena this time, he hopes to start again from the "Ice Ribbon" and find his competitive form.
"I really enjoy and love speed skating. Every athlete has its ups and downs, and in the new season, my key word is 'rebirth'. Gao Tingyu said.
In this competition, the Chinese team won 2 silver medals and 4 bronze medals. Among them, men's speed skating star Ning Zhongyan won three medals - silver medal in men's sprint team pursuit and bronze medals in men's 3m and 1000m.
Ning Zhongyan said that returning to the "Ice Ribbon" competition is no longer as nervous as in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and more is about enjoying the competition. In this season's World Cup in Japan, Ning Zhongyan won 1 silver and 1 bronze in two single events, maintaining a good competitive state.
"It's a really good start to the season and I'm hoping to win gold in the next tournament." Ning Zhongyan said.
In the women's event, the Chinese team also won. Han Mei and Li Qi won the silver and bronze medals in the women's 1500m, and Han Mei also won the bronze medal in the women's 3000m.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Han Mei led the Chinese team to the fifth place in the women's team pursuit. This season's silver and bronze is her first World Cup medal in an individual event.
The last time a Chinese woman stood on the podium in the 1500m World Cup was in the 1999-2000 season. At that time, Song Li won third place in the competition in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. Now, the new breakthrough of the two female athletes has made people see the hope and future of China's speed skating.
"Chinese athletes should have lofty ideals." "At Milan 2026, my goal is to finish on the podium. ”
Regarding the performance of Chinese speed skating in the new season, Li Yan, chairman of the Chinese Skating Association and head coach of the speed skating national training team, said that the team's breakthrough is achieved by team strength.
In the previous preparations, Ning Zhongyan, Han Mei and other players trained with the coaching team of Japanese star Miho Takagi. In Li Yan's view, training should combine the advantages of domestic and foreign countries. "Every athlete is looking for their own shortcomings and finding a place to work hard to break through. We unite the spirit of the whole team and use the strength of the team to achieve such a breakthrough. Li Yan said.
Racing "Snow Dragon"
The National Bobsleigh Centre in Yanqing, Beijing, has also welcomed new and old friends. In the 2023-2024 International Bobsleigh Federation Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup Yanqing held recently, many Winter Olympic medalists returned to the "Snow Dragon" to stage fast and furious on the track. This is also the first International Sports Federation A-level event ushered in by Yanqing after the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In this event, the Chinese team won 2 silvers and 2 bronzes, achieving a historical breakthrough. Among them, in the first competition of the men's four-man bobsleigh, Sun Kaizhi Racing Team from China ranked third and won the first World Cup medal of the Chinese men's four-man bobsleigh.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese teams led by Sun Kaizhi and Li Chunjian won the 16th and 17th places in the men's four-man bobsleigh respectively, creating the best results of the Chinese team in the Winter Olympics. Returning to the "Snow Dragon" this time, the Chinese players showed their growth. The newly formed four-man duo of Sun Kaizhi, Ding Song, Ye Jielong and Zhen Heng finished first in the first round and third overall in the two rounds, standing on the World Cup podium for the first time.
In the skeleton event, the Chinese athletes performed well. In the women's event, China's Zhao Dan lost 0.02 seconds to Germany's Tina Hermann and won a valuable silver medal, which was also the first time that a Chinese women's skeleton athlete won a World Cup medal. In the men's event, two Chinese players, Chen Wenhao and Yan Wengang, stood on the podium together and won silver and bronze medals respectively.
Missing the gold medal by a narrow margin made Zhao Dan regretful. But she said the competition gave her confidence. From serving as the flagbearer of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics to standing on the podium of the World Cup, this post-00 youngster has been growing.
"I used to look up to high-level players, but after all these years of hard work, I can get closer to them step by step." Zhao Dan said, "I am now more confident to compete and compete with masters." ”
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Yan Wengang won the first Winter Olympic medal in China's skeleton event in the "Snow Dragon". He said that the next step is to continue to maintain good form in the World Cup and World Championships, and strive for more chances to be on the podium. It is worth mentioning that the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics will feature a mixed team event for the first time, which provides new opportunities for Chinese skeleton. Yan Wengang said that the next training and competition should be fully prepared for this new project.
A convergence of top events
After the speed skating and bobsleigh World Cup competitions, Beijing, as the "double Olympic city", will also host the FIS Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing Big Air World Cup, the ISU World Figure Skating Grand Prix Finals, the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup and other top international ice and snow events this season.
The Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing Big Air World Cup will be held at the Shougang Big Air from November 11 to December 30, the World Figure Skating Grand Prix Finals will be held at the National Indoor Stadium from December 12 to 2, and the Short Track Speed Skating World Cup Beijing will be held at the Capital Indoor Stadium from December 12 to 7.
Li Yang, deputy director of the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of China, said that the Chinese team will have a total of 4 players with 3 women and 7 men to participate in the freestyle skiing big air competition, of which the goal of the women's event is to reach the podium, and the goal of the men's event is to strive for the final. Beijing Winter Olympics champion Su Yiming will appear in the men's snowboard big air competition, returning to the "blessed land" of one-jump fame.
Not long ago, the ISU World Grand Prix of Figure Skating China Cup was held in Chongqing. And next month, the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finals will "bloom" in Beijing. Shen Xue, chairman of the Chinese Figure Skating Association, said that Beijing has held 10 China Cups, one Four Continents and one Grand Prix Finals, and believes that this competition will once again ignite the passion for ice and snow in the "Double Olympic City".
According to the data, in the 2023-2024 season, China will host 18 international and 91 domestic ice and snow events. Compared to last season, international competitions have increased by about 50% compared to the previous season. Among them, December is the peak season of the event, and there are international or domestic competitions staged almost every day. Genting Snow Park in Chongli, Hebei Province, which is also the venue for the Beijing Winter Olympics, will host the Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe World Cup from December 12 to December 12. The Lianhuashan Ski Resort in Changchun, Jilin Province, will host the Freestyle Skiing Aerials World Cup on December 6-12. (People's Daily Overseas Edition Reporter Liu Yao)