After the full three qualification trials for the forthcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games ended on Saturday in Beijing, China’s short-track speed skating team revealed its roster for the women and men athletes who are going to represent China at the Games.
The five members of the men’s team are spearhead members Wu Dajing and Ren Ziwei and athletes Sun Long, Li Wenlong and Zhang Tianyi, while on the women’s side, the five short-track speed skaters making up the team are Zhang Yuting, Fan Kexin, Qu Chunyu, Zhang Chutong and Han Yutong.
The lead members of the Chinese men’s short-track speed skating team, Wu and Ren qualified for the Games due to their individual championship records gained from the Short Track Speed Skating World Cup competitions – four in total – held in November 2021 in Dordrecht, the Netherlands.
Wu won gold in the men’s 500 meters and Ren pinned down the championship for the 1,500 meters at the World Cup.
The three qualification trials used a points system, a standard line is also set for each individual event and athletes who reach the standard and win first place can get extra points.
Besides emerging stars such as 17-year-old Zhang Tianyi and Zhang Yuting, short-track speed skater An Kai will miss out on the Games since he did not meet the qualification standards, despite receiving double golds, for six in total, at the sew cond and third rounds of the men’s 500-meter, 1,000-meter and 1,500-meter events.
Short-track speed skating is an event in which China is particularly strong.
Ten of China’s 13 Winter Olympic gold medals were earned by its short-track speed team. China has secured a maximum quota of five men and five women for the competition in Beijing.
The Olympic short-track speed skating event will start on February 5, and the first gold medals up for grabs will be the men’s and women’s mixed 2,000-meter relay. The Chinese team is expected to win gold in this event.
Chinese skater Wu Dajing celebrates winning gold in the men’s 500-meter short-track speed skating at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on February 22, 2018. Photo: VCG
