The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is scheduled to begin with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 4th, 2022, and end on Sunday, February 20th. There will be 109 events in seven sports: biathlon, bobsledding, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating (which includes figure skating and speed skating), and skiing (which includes alpine, nordic, and ski jumping). Many Chinese Winter Olympics athletes are rising to the opportunity for international glory while representing their country.
Beijing was elected as host city in July 2015. The Chinese winter sports industry is growing ever since. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be the first Winter Olympics in China, and the second overall Olympics to be held in China after the 2008 Summer Olympics which was also held in Beijing. The mascot is Bing Dwen Dwen, a wide-eyed panda in a suit of ice.
Having the opportunity to hold two Olympics encourages more Chinese nationals to engage in sports and exercise. It also leads to strong growth of the sports market in China.
10 Chinese Winter Olympic athletes to watch out for
Ailing (Eileen) Gu 谷爱凌 – Freestyle Skiing
Age: 18
Gu was born in the United States to an American father and a Chinese mother. She started to compete for China in 2019.
At the beginning of 2021, she won 2 golds and 1 bronze (Gold Medal in Slope Obstacle Skills and U-shaped Field Skills + Bronze Medal in Big Platform) at the World Championships and X-Games respectively.
She has a great reputation for excellent skiing performance, and outstanding academic performance (admitted by Stanford University as a Class of 2025, taking a gap year to enroll in 2026). Most importantly, she has chosen to represent China under her mother’s influence. Her recognizable appearance and impressive background has made her a top choice of endorsement. The brands she has endorsed include Anta, Tiffany, and Victoria’s Secret.
Mengtao Xu 徐梦桃 – Freestyle Skiing
Age: 31
Mengtao Xu is the leading character of the Chinese Women’s Freestyle Skiing Team. She participated in three Winter Olympics: Vancouver, Sochi, and Pyeongchang. She won the bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be the fourth time for her to compete in the Winter Olympics. Xu hopes to win at home and draw a successful conclusion to her career.
Her social appearance is always positive with a big smile. Currently, she has a total number of 2.5 million fans on Weibo.
Zongyang Jia 贾宗洋 – Freestyle Skiing
Age:30
Zongyang Jia, born in 1991, is already a veteran of freestyle skiing aerials in China. From sixth place in Vancouver to the bronze medal in Sochi, to the silver medal in Pyeongchang, Jia Zongyang always breaks through when looked down.
Despite having experienced a comminuted fracture of the lower leg, he came second in FIS Freestyle Skiing Aerials World Cup, Lucca, Finland on Dec 11th.
Despite not being active on social media, with only 50 thousand fans on Weibo, his tough image is distinguished. There are in total 22 steel nails in his legs due to injury. There is a story to tell about the tenacious spirit.
Ziwei Ren 任子威 – Short Track Speed Skating
Age: 24
Ziwei Ren was born in Harbin, China. He started skating in 2004 and joined the national team in 2014. In the same year, at the age of 17, he appeared in the World Youth Short Track Speed Skating Championships. This was his first international event, and he won a bronze medal in 1,500 meters and a gold medal in the 3,000-meter relay.
His performance has been consistent. He is welcomed by fans and was named “dumbo” (小飞象 in Chinese, translated as little flying elephant) because of his speed on the track.
Dajing Wu 武大靖 – Short Track Speed Skating
Age: 27
Dajing Wu was born in Heilongjiang. He is the world record holder for men’s 500 meters short-track speed skating, and the Olympic record holder. He carried the flag for the Chinese delegation at the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. He was named top ten international athletes in 2018 by the Sports Department of Xinhua News Agency.
He has a solid foundation of fans, with a total number of 8.8 million on Weibo. His striking appearance and excellent skating skill allow him to attract all sorts of fans.
Yiming Su 苏翊鸣 – Snowboard Jump
Age: 17
Yiming Su was born in 2004 in Jilin, China. In 2018, Su Yiming was selected for the national training team. In 2021, Su Yiming won his first international championship at the Steamboat World Cup.
Other than snowboarding, he is also a child star, having acted in several movies and drama series. His most famous character is Xiaoshuanzi in The Taking of Tiger Mountain (智取威虎山 in Chinese) by Xuke in 2014.
He is not active on social media, but his previous presence on screen and in public has generated exposure. His outstanding athletic performance will bring him to the next level as a public figure.
Wenjing Sui 隋文静 & Cong Han 韩聪 – Paired Figure Skating
Age: 26 & 29
Sui and Han have been partnered since 2007. They took the banner of China’s double skating glory and won the silver medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and two world championships. They are actively preparing for the upcoming Olympics and have made great innovations on complicated movements.
Both athletes have around 2 million followers on Weibo. They have a huge potential to earn a good result at home, which will consequently boost their commercial value.
Wenqiang Geng 耿文强 – Skeleton
Age: 26
Wenqiang Geng was born in Inner Mongolia. He came 13th in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics but has been on an upward trend since then. He won third place in the La Plagne, France World Cup and represented China on the World Cup podium for the first time.
He has a low exposure due to the nature of the sport being not as popular as other snow sports.
Zhongyan Ning 宁忠岩 – Speed Skating
Age: 22
Zhongyan Ning was born in 1999 and joined the Chinese national skating team in 2018. He has broken the national record in March 2019. In the same year, he came second in November, broke the field record, and won first place in December.
He committed himself to train and has a low exposure on social media. However, there is enough media coverage on his result. He is given high expectations to bring Chinese speed skating to the next level.
Tingyu Gao 高亭宇 – Speed Skating
Age: 24
Gao Tingyu, the bronze medalist in men’s 500-meter speed skating at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is currently the leader of the Chinese speed skating team. He will take on the important task of making a historical breakthrough for the Chinese men’s speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
However, he has been unstable in recent competitions. If he successfully earns a good result on this highly noticed sport, he will have enough exposure in public.
These 10 Chinese winter Olympics athletes have shown potential to earn good results in their respective events. Additionally, they are great choices for brand endorsements in the near future.
Author: Michael Ling
