China has made abundantly clear its wishes that 300 million of its citizens participate in winter sports, thanks in large part to its hosting of the at-present ongoing Olympics. And yesterday, it felt like every last one of them had decided to go ice skating in Nanjing.
The Middle Kingdom took home its first gold medal of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics the day before yesterday, 5 February. That victory was all the inspiration Nanjingers needed to have a go at ice skating.
And so they yesterday descended upon the Nanjing Olympic Centre in their droves. Looking down on the ice, it was also evident that for the overwhelming majority, yesterday was their first time. It was a sure-fire, knock-on effect of China’s Olympic win. And it was nothing short of pandemonium out there.
The Nanjinger spoke to an unnamed staff member on the receiving end of the head of the queue that was snaking into the Centre’s Ice Sports Club at about 15:30 yesterday. She confirmed to this publication that the number of people coming through the doors was possibly setting a record.
On the other hand, China has historically not set many records at the Winter Olympics, but that does not mean it hasn’t been trying hard.
In fact, as the sun rose over Beijing and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, short-track speed skating and freestyle skiing were the disciplines in which China had won the most Winter Games’ medals.
But it was not until 1994 that China won its first. Chen Lu took gold in figure skating in Lillehammer, Norway, and then became world champion the following year.
Still on the ice, China has also performed relatively well in pairs. Its first win came in 2010 at the Games in Vancouver, when husband and wife duo, Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue, took Olympic gold, also in figure skating.
The pair’s triumph crowned multiple previous wins; bronze Olympic medals from Salt Lake City in 2002 and Turin in 2006, in additional to three world championship wins, in 2002, 2003 and 2007.
No doubt such wins by Zhao, Shen and Chen, together with the patriotic spirit stirred by this year’s Winter Olympic Games, were enough to make all those many Nanjingers willing to brave the ice yesterday, knowing full well a few falls were likely in store.
