Tag Archives: figure skating
Doping, diplomacy and deadbeat players
Fresh off making their 2017 China Sources list, this is my debut China Sports column for SupChina, which you can read in full here. Below is a summary of what went on this week.
China’s Olympic report card
The Chinese delegation came away from Sochi with 3 gold medals, 4 silvers and 2 bronze, good for 12th in the medals table. China Sports Insider reviews the highs and lows…
Best performance
Zhang Hong, gold, 1,000 m speed skating. Starting in the 7th of 18 heats (when the top ranked skaters typically go at the end), Zhang started slowly but then turned on the burners. Her time ripped up the track record and no one even came close – her winning margin was bigger than the previous four finals combined. Best of all, it was China’s first ever long track Olympic title.
Worst performance
Could this be China’s best day of the Olympics?
Day 13 was a quiet one for China in Sochi with figure skaters Li Zijun and Zhang Kexin finishing 14th and 15th respectively in the ladies solo competition, but Day 14 could be big one…
Continue reading Could this be China’s best day of the Olympics?
Snow bunnies in Shenyang
It’s a slow day on the Olympic front for China – just Li Zijun and Zhang Kexin (currently 11th and 14th respectively) in the ladies figure skating – so here’s a picture that proves beyond all doubt that the Olympics have resulted in a huge growth for winter sports in China…
The Outsliders: China’s curlers prepare to take on Canada
Day 11 review
Aside from the drama of the women’s 3,000 m relay – which ended China’s Olympic short track streak in the women’s events at six – there were a couple of heats: 500 m winner Li Jianrou and Fan Kexin safely made it through to the quarterfinals of the women’s 1,000 m, though Liu Qiuhong was disqualified for impeding another skater; on the men’s side, Liang Wenhao, Han Tianyu and Wu Dajing all won their heats and progressed through to the quarterfinals, which start late on Saturday night.
Continue reading The Outsliders: China’s curlers prepare to take on Canada
China takes another shot at aerial gold
Medal count
3G, 2S, 0B – 9th place overall
More gold medals on the way for China?
Well that was unexpected.
China won the 500 m women’s short track title for the fourth consecutive time – but no one would have guessed that Li Jianrou would be the one to do it – and then Zhang Hong (left) won China’s first ever (long track) speed skating Olympic title in an even more stunning result. It was also the first time China has won two gold medals on the same day at a Winter Olympics.
China’s Olympics: Day 5 review, Day 6 preview
Day 5 review
It wasn’t to be for China’s veteran figure skater duo Tong Jian and Pang Qing, who made their competitive swansong on Wednesday evening in the free program of the pairs competition. They started in 4th place after their short program, and that’s where they finished, despite a free program that was third best overall. Consolation prize for retiring? They now have time to get married. Russia finished 1-2, matching China’s finish from four years ago, and the Germans were third. China’s other pair – Cheng Peng and Zhang Hao – finished in 8th.
Continue reading China’s Olympics: Day 5 review, Day 6 preview
China’s Olympics: Day 4 review, Day 5 preview
Day 4 review
Tuesday February 11 was a solid – but ultimately disappointing – day for China. Speed skater Zhang Hong (pictured left) pulled out the performance of the day in the first run of the women’s 2 x 500 m. Her time of 37.58 was a new track record at the time, though two competitors later went faster, placing Zhang in bronze medal position at the half way point. Her second race was considerably slower at 37.99 for a 4th place finish – 0.1 seconds out of bronze – but she’ll have another chance in the 1,000 m.
Continue reading China’s Olympics: Day 4 review, Day 5 preview