Winter Olympics: China’s top 10 hopes for Beijing include teen stars and serial gold-medal winners
- From poster girl skier Eileen Gu to little-known skeleton trailblazer Geng Wenqiang, China has several athletes to pin their podium hopes on
- Returning veterans, those in their prime and teenage prodigies all out to make use of home advantage as Beijing beckons
With the mainland’s National Bureau of Statistics this month announcing it realised its overarching goal of “getting 300 million people into winter sports” ahead of its home Games, there is something of a point to prove.
Though most stop short of forecasting a better outing than it’s all-time best five winter golds at the 2010 Vancouver Games, China boasts a jaw-droppingly talented delegation of seasoned veterans, teenage phenoms and point-proving Olympic returnees. Here’s who to look out for, according to China-based market research firm Daxue Consulting.
Eileen Gu Ailing – Freestyle skiing
US-born Gu has been shredding it up in competition since opting to compete for her mother’s birthplace of China in 2019 and is considered a triple medal threat in the half-pipe, slopestyle and big air events.
