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Patrick Blennerhassett

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, China’s athletes showed the fruits of their sporting labour when they won an unprecedented 100 medals, 48 of them gold.
After being awarded the Games in Beijing in 2001, the country set about undertaking a massive effort to produce world calibre athletes in virtually every sport on the docket. The move paid off and now fans around the world are wondering if they can repeat the feat next month.
China’s medal tally 14 years ago was equally impressive because in 2004 in Athens they only won 64 medals, 32 of them gold.
At the previous Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, China took home nine medals, but only one gold, with Wu Dajing securing top spot in the 500m short-track speedskating event.

China has secured a maximum quota of 10 athletes, five men and five women, in the speed skating discipline across nine events, including the newly added mixed relay, and has put on a number of compelling performances in races leading up to Beijing 2022.
Wu qualified after winning one of the four World Cup legs in 2021, along with men’s teammate Ren Ziwei, who is also a potential medal contender. Four years ago the Chinese speed skaters captured two silvers and a bronze.
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China’s men’s aerial ski team swept the podium at Deer Valley resort in Utah this week, showing yet again they will be the top three contenders for medals, led by Xindi Wang who took gold in the men’s division.
Aerial skiing and snowboarding could be events where China adds additional medals given their racers have been preparing on the slopes that will be used for the Games.
Then of course there is Chinese freestyle ski star Eileen Gu, who will have the weight of the nation on her shoulders as she shoots for three medals.
Gu became the first X Games rookie to take medals in three events on her debut, and the first free skier to win multiple world titles in a single year. At just 18 she will try to medal and take gold in big air, half-pipe and slopestyle.

In 2018 China grabbed three medals, but no golds, in freestyle skiing, so the chances of them building on that tally look strong.
When it comes to figure skating, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong will expect to build on their silver medal from 2018, which was just 0.43 points from gold in South Korea. The two-time world champions took the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series in Canada and Italy during the 2021-22 season, with fellow Chinese figure skating pairs team Peng Cheng and Jin Yang finishing second in Italy.
In Korea, China only grabbed one medal in figure skating, but that is a number that could go up given the top five pairs in the global rankings are either Chinese or Russian. There is also Jin Boyang, who came fourth in Pyeongchang, and could find his way onto the podium if he has a stand-out performance.
More than the 80 competitors across 12 disciplines that China sent to South Korea are expected to qualify this time around, and the squad has a number of dark horse contenders who could well benefit from competing at home.
One of those athletes is Geng Wenqiang, who took up skeleton first in 2015, and won China’s first World Cup title in Austria in November.


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Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Beijing 2022: can China’s athletes improve on 9 medals they won at Pyeongchang Winter Olympics?

Xindi Wang from China celebrates his first place finish in the men’s aerials at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup in Deer Valley, Utah. Photo: EPA

Can Xindi Wang and company build upon China’s nine medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang? Chances are yes. Photo: EPA

China’s Eileen Gu is expected to medal at Beijing 2022, but how many will she get? Photo: AP

Beijing 2022: Winter Games’ ‘closed loop’ impenetrable, IOC director Christophe Dubi says as Chinese capital prepares to seal itself off from outside world

Officials wear protective gear at Beijing Capital International Airport amid Covid-19 fears as the city prepares to host the Winter Olympics. Photo: Kyodo

A worker wearing personal protective equipment at the National Alpine Ski Centre venue for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. Photo: AFP

Residents line up at a football field for coronavirus testing in Tianjin municipality, after the city experienced new positive cases of Covid-19. Photo: AP

Beijing 2022: European athletes warned against taking personal smartphones to Winter Olympics, citing cybersecurity fears

Staff prepare a security barrier in front of a display of the Olympic flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. Photo: Reuters

Staff members take selfies during a rehearsal for a victory ceremony at the Beijing Medals Plaza being used for the Winter Olympics. Photo: AP

The Netherlands, Belgium and Britain have reported asked its athletes not to take their personal laptops and smartphones to the Beijing Games. Photo: AFP

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Beijing 2022: IOC still waiting on word from China as to whether fans can attend Winter Olympics

An installation featuring Beijing Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen (R) and Paralympic mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon is seen near the National Stadium in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Kyodo

Beijing’s National Stadium will be inside the ‘closed loop’ system at Beijing 2022 in February. Photo: Kyodo

China is hoping incredibly strict Covid-19 measures will quell any potential outbreak during Beijing 2022. Photo: AFP

Beijing 2022: Chinese director Zhang Yimou hopes to lift spirits of a pandemic-ravaged world during Winter Olympics opening ceremony

An installation featuring Bing Dwen Dwen, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Mascot and Shuey Rhon Rhon, the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games Mascot in Beijing, China. Photo: Reuter 

A worker sticks a poster for the 2022 Winter Olympics on a flower bed along a busy street in Beijing. Photo: AFP

A view of the main media centre for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

Beijing 2022: Chinese skiers sweep podium in show of strength at Deer Valley Aerials World Cup as Wang Xindi secures gold

Team China celebrates their first, second and third place finishes in the men’s aerials at Deer Valley. Photo: EPA-EFE

China’s Wang Xindi in full flight during the World Cup freestyle aerials competition at Deer Valley Resort. Photo: AP

Despite a fall during the finals of the World Cup freestyle aerials, China’s Kong Fanyu claimed silver. Photo: AP

Sport

China

Beijing Winter Games 2022

Skiing

Figure Skating


China will look to channel incredible performance on home soil from 2008 Summer Games, where they took home an astonishing 100 medals
Aerial skiing and short-track speedskating look to be the team’s best bet to better their outing from 2018 Winter Games in South Korea



Men’s aerial phenom Wang Xindi could lead a much-improved Chinese Winter Olympic team to more hardware at the Beijing Games.
