Editorial | Olympic results entrench China’s rise as a winter sports power

The Winter Olympic Games have gone into hibernation again for four years, until the relighting of the Olympic flame in 2030 by the next host – the French Alps. Norway will be aiming to top the gold-medal count for the fifth consecutive time, but many eyes will be on China to see if it can sustain its rise as a winter sports power. In the Milano Cortina games, the country has just achieved its best result in a Winter games outside China – five gold medals, four silver and six bronze. That may not compare with the nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals in Beijing in 2022, until you consider the underlying competitiveness – 15 podium finishes in both games. For context, the haul from Pyeongchang in 2018 was one gold, six silver and two bronze.

China’s Eileen Gu became the most decorated freestyle skier in Winter Olympics history after winning halfpipe gold on Sunday, adding a sixth medal to her collection from two Winter Olympics. China was confirmed as the dominant force in aerials, retaining gold medals in the women’s and men’s finals through husband and wife Wang Xindi and Xu Mengtao. Other Chinese gold-medal winners were Ning Zhongyan in the men’s 1,500m speed skating, and Su Yiming in the men’s snowboard slopestyle.

Hong Kong’s Joey Lam Ching-yan came seventh in the women’s 1,500m short-track speedskating, the city’s best result at a Winter Games. That’s even without adequate facilities in the city. In that regard, Hong Kong can take heart from President Xi Jinping’s support for the growth of international winter sports in China as a driver of consumption and development.