Chinese speed skaters compete at a World Cup meet in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland, on Feb 18. The 2023-24 World Cup season begins in Obihiro, Japan, on Friday. [Photo/AP]

Team China expands medal ambitions as new World Cup season begins

The Chinese speed skating team is picking up the pace again as it expands its medal ambitions to more disciplines at the next Winter Olympics.

Having produced a number of world-class sprinters in recent years, Team China is now determined to also go for glory in the grueling long-distance races.

"I want our skaters to be able to compete and win in multiple events, not just one or two. Our goal is to develop an overall, more balanced team that is capable of covering more distances on the world stage," Li Yan, head coach of the Chinese national team, said after a training session in Beijing on Monday.

"That's the change of mentality that we have to instill in each and every national team athlete going into the new Olympic cycle — that we shall dare to improve and try to win in more events."

Team China's lofty ambitions will be tested for the first time on Friday when the International Skating Union opens its 2023-24 World Cup season in Obihiro, Japan, where a 10-strong Chinese team, divided equally into men and women, will compete.

Overseen by Li and with Dutch coach Jan Bos also lending his expertise, a squad comprising 16 men, 14 women and four juniors has been busy during an intense offseason program. The focus has been on aerobic endurance, strength conditioning and, perhaps most importantly, the athletes' "champion mindset". The early results have been encouraging.

At the domestic elite league's first leg last week in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, a total of 48 personal bests — specifically for a low-lying, near-sea-level track, where skaters tend to go slower — were achieved. Those results earned China a best-ever qualification quota for the World Cup series.