Here is a summary of this week’s China Sports column for SupChina, which was first published here.
Continue reading Experience is key for Team China in Pyeongchang
Tag Archives: Xu Mengtao
Consolation prize for China’s flying men in Sochi
You win some, you lose some.
China most certainly won some earlier at these Olympics, with Li Jianrou and Zhang Hong both becoming unlikely Olympic champions alongside the more favored Zhou Yang, but it was in the aerials competitions – both men’s and women’s – where China was most expected to shine.
Continue reading Consolation prize for China’s flying men in Sochi
China takes another shot at aerial gold
Medal count
3G, 2S, 0B – 9th place overall
Another medal for China on Day 7
Day 7 review
Chinese interest on Valentine’s Day focused on the women’s aerials competition, but it was a late one: three of the four Chinese competitors made it through to the final, which didn’t start until 0130 China time. Once there, all three – Xu Mengtao (above), Li Nina and Cheng Shuang – made it through the first stage as four of the 12 finalists were eliminated; then Xu, the 2013 world champion, and Li, Olympic silver medalist in 2006 and 2010, made it through to the final four with defending champ Lydia Lassila from Australia and Belarusian Alla Tsuper, a 34-year-old mother taking the last jump of a 16-year Olympic career that had seen her finish 5th, 9th, 10th and 8th – but no medals. Continue reading Another medal for China on Day 7
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.
Winter Olympics preview: China’s medal hopes [UPDATED]
China has long been known as a Summer Olympic powerhouse (3rd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd in last four Games), with an almost impenetrable grip on sports such as diving and table tennis, but in recent years, it has been at the Winter Olympic Games where China has made the most improvements.
China finished in 16th place in the medal table in Nagano in 1998, then posted 13th and 14th place finishes in Salt Lake City and Turin respectively, but leapt up to 7th in Vancouver four years ago and, in the process, became a genuine force to be reckoned with at the Winter Olympics. Here are the most likely contenders to win medals for the motherland in Sochi: Continue reading Winter Olympics preview: China’s medal hopes [UPDATED]
China begins search for a new Olympic star
I wrote last week about speed skater Wang Meng breaking her ankle after she crashed into an as-yet-unnamed male teammate, putting a serious dent into China’s Olympic hopes. Some people have pointed out to me since that China doesn’t exactly need much sympathy when it comes to the Olympics – their last six medal tables have seen them finish 4th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd.
But that is the Summer Games, and the Winter Games is a different story, Continue reading China begins search for a new Olympic star