Alpine skiing in China has achieved leap-forward development

Alpine skiing originated in Europe, also known as alpine skiing, and is known as "the jewel in the crown of the Winter Olympics". In the 4th Winter Olympics in 1936, alpine skiing was listed as the first event in the Winter Olympics. The alpine skiing competition in Beijing Winter Olympics will be held at the National Alpine Ski Center in Yanqing, and more than 300 athletes will participate in the competition.

The steep track produced 11 gold medals.

Eleven gold medals will be produced in the alpine skiing competition of Beijing Winter Olympics, in which men and women will have five events, namely downhill, super giant slalom, giant slalom, slalom and all-around, and there will also be mixed team events. Although all events depend on the athletes’ finish time, according to the competitive characteristics of each event, downhill, super giant slalom and all-around are "speed events", while giant slalom and slewing are "technical events".

The Final Edition of the Competition Schedule of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics released recently shows that there are 11 competition days in alpine skiing, and a gold medal is produced every day. The first gold medal comes from the men’s downhill, the champion will be produced on February 6, and the mixed team gold medal in the final event will be produced on February 19.

In the alpine skiing competition, athletes need to challenge the steep track, and the fastest sliding speed can reach 150 km/h. Alpine skiing is one of the most vulnerable events to the weather. Temperature, wind speed and visibility will directly affect athletes’ technical performance. Because of the changeable weather in mountainous areas, alpine skiing events are often postponed or cancelled. Sometimes alpine skiing competitions will be held in heavy snow and fog, and it is difficult for athletes to slide down and turn at high speed on the track with changeable terrain under the condition of poor sight. Facing the unfamiliar track, athletes should get up their courage every time they start.

In the competition, finding the fastest route, taking risks and using technology correctly are equally important. Skiing efficiency is the most important in such technical projects as slalom and giant slalom. Athletes need to keep their skis forward and their calves parallel in the competition, and their skis need to be changed frequently and quickly. At the same time, you need to keep balance and try to keep your body in the middle of the snowboard.

In speed events, it is particularly important to be familiar with the track. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, one of the major challenges faced by the contestants is their unfamiliarity with the track. Due to the epidemic situation, the track of Yanqing National Alpine Ski Center failed to hold a test race.

Stars compete for "the jewel in the crown"

As the "jewel in the crown of the Winter Olympics", alpine skiing shows the charm of skiing in the subtle combination of speed and skill. Like track and field and swimming events of the Summer Olympics, the alpine skiing venue of the Winter Olympics has always been crowded with stars.

The Czech Republic will send the largest ever Winter Olympics delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the number is expected to exceed 130. Alpine skier estelle Ledecka is the brightest star in the Czech Winter Olympics delegation. At the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Ledecka won the gold medals in the parallel slalom of snowboarding and the super slalom of alpine skiing, becoming the first athlete in history to win the gold medal with two different instruments in one Winter Olympics. In the super giant slalom, Ledecka’s main opponents will be Swiss Gute behrami and Italian Sophia Gogia.

American Michella Schifflin is also a popular skier in alpine skiing. Schifflin, born in 1995, as the gold medal winner of women’s slalom in Sochi Winter Olympics and women’s giant slalom in Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is the athlete who has won the largest number of World Cup races among active players. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Schifflin’s goal was to attack the record that Janeka Kostrich won four medals (including three gold medals) at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. On the men’s side, Marco Oldmat of Switzerland is the favourite to win the grand slalom in alpine skiing. This season, he showed his dominance in the World Cup of this event, and Oldmat also had the opportunity to compete for the championship in the super slalom.

Alpine skiing is not only a stage for top athletes to win the pearl, but also a breakthrough for many countries to become attached to the Winter Olympics.

Bolivia, located in South America, will send two athletes, Brett Firth and Gronlund, to compete in alpine skiing and cross-country skiing in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Mauricio Belmont Biehuan, Chargé d ‘affaires of the Bolivian Embassy in China, said that Bolivia sent a delegation to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics and released a clear signal that Bolivia fully supported the hosting of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. "Ice and snow sports are relatively small in Bolivia, and it is very important for us to have athletes to represent Bolivia in the Beijing Winter Olympics."

Saudi Arabia will send two alpine skiers to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is the first time that Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries have sent athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics. According to the official Twitter account of the Saudi Olympic Committee, Saudi alpine skiers Salman Howaish and Fayik Abdi filled this historical gap.

China realizes the whole project participation.

China Alpine Skiing Project has a weak foundation, but it has developed by leaps and bounds under the encouragement of the Beijing Winter Olympics. In the 11 events of alpine skiing in the Beijing Winter Olympics, the China team participated in all events. Team China will send two men and two women to participate in alpine skiing competition, and will also team up to participate in mixed team competitions.

Judging from the previous Winter Olympics, alpine skiing, a basic sport, used to be the only way for China team to participate in two or three technical events with one quota for men and one quota for women allocated by the International Snow Federation, and its performance was also relatively backward.

In order to overcome the three speed events of downhill, super slalom and all-around in the Winter Olympics and achieve the goal of "all-event participation", with the strong support of the Winter Games Center of the General Administration, the alpine skiing national training team set up a speed event team in 2017, with technical athletes as well as events, to fully impact the Olympic qualifications of downhill, super slalom and all-around. Athlete of alpine skiing technical events and speed events need to face great difficulties and constantly conquer the speed limit and the extreme environment. Therefore, in the preparation cycle of Beijing Winter Olympics, the athletes of China Alpine Skiing National Training Team have to deal with triple challenges in technology, physical fitness and psychology.

Our athletes bravely accepted this challenge and shouldered the burden of "participating in all events" in the snow-based major events without hesitation. In the process of preparing for the sprint, the team members experienced setbacks and faced the bottleneck period, but everyone became more and more frustrated, strengthened their beliefs and worked hard. Even in the final process of grabbing Olympic points, many registered events were cancelled due to weather and other reasons, and the competition plan was forced to be adjusted. Athletes can quickly adjust their mentality, cherish the few competition opportunities, always be firm, persistent and determined, and their competitive state has been continuously improved in preparation, and finally the whole project has been realized. (From January 25th, China Sports Daily, 03 edition)