AS the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games reach the halfway mark Saturday, the Chinese delegation competing on home soil has seen breakthroughs and moments of glory. China dispatched a 388-member contingent, its largest ever, to the Beijing Winter Olympics, including 177 athletes who are set to compete in 104 of 109 events in 15 disciplines across seven sports. With the emergence of several prodigies, China has strong momentum in its overall strength on snow. Gu Ailing, 18, won the women’s freeski big air gold medal, becoming China’s first female gold medalist on snow. Su Yiming, 17, took a silver in the men’s snowboard slopestyle to become the first Chinese male snowboarder to reach the Olympic podium. He managed a triple cork 1800 in the last section, the first time for the trick to appear at an Olympics. Gao Tingyu, one of China’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony, became the country’s first ever male Olympic gold medalist in speed skating after winning the men’s 500m race in a new Olympic record time. China’s short track speed skating team had earned 10 out of the country’s total 13 gold medals in previous editions of the Winter Games. Ren Ziwei has received the baton as a leader among Chinese male skaters, winning the 2,000m mixed team relay and the men’s 1,000m gold medal. Behind him, Li Wenlong, another post-2000s athlete, won a silver over the 1,000m distance. In the freestyle skiing mixed team aerials, an added event on the Beijing Winter Olympic program, it was a story about the persistence of veterans, as Xu Mengtao, Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu teamed up to bag a silver in their fourth Olympic appearances. In the men’s skeleton, Yan Wengang won the country’s first medal in any sliding sport with a bronze, which was notable for the fact that Chinese athletes only made their Olympic debut in the discipline at Pyeongchang 2018. Breaking through is not all about winning medals. In the 104 events China is participating in, 35 events witness the presence of Chinese athletes for the first time in history, and every step they make writes a historic chapter in China’s winter sports. Zhao Jiawen, one of the torch bearers at the opening ceremony, finished 43rd in the individual Gundersen normal hill/10km event, becoming the first-ever Chinese athlete to finish a Nordic combined competition at a Winter Olympics. “If we can compete in the next Winter Olympics, we will definitely achieve a greater breakthrough,” said Zhao. “I hope that more people get to know this sport through this Games, and support our Chinese team to go forward,” commented Fan Duoyao, the first Chinese luger to appear on the Olympic stage. For Ni Huizhong, secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic delegation, the athletes’ performances at the ongoing Winter Olympics have met expectations so far. “We are happy to see that the Chinese athletes have shown their resilience, confidence and never-give-up spirit at the Games,” said Ni. “We will continue to display sportsmanship and fight hard in the following events.” (Xinhua) | 