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