Feature: Chinese winter sports athletes aiming for 2026 Olympics

CHANGCHUN, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- For Chinese winter sports athletes, the new ski season after Beijing 2022 is well marked as one to prepare for the next Winter Olympics.

Cross-country skiing, biathlon and snowboarding athletes in northeast China's Jilin Province are polishing their skills amid frosty days and pressing for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The winter sunlight lay upon the ski tracks, adding warmth to a usual training day of coach Li Geliang and his cross-country skiing team. A former Asian champion, Li has been training the team at a ski resort in northeast China's Changbai Mountains this winter for the 2026 Winter Games.

People visit the snow-covered Changbai Mountain in northeast China's Jilin Province, March 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

A total of 14 athletes aged 12 to 17 skied across the slope at an altitude of over 650 meters as temperatures plunged below minus 17 degrees Celsius.

"It's the first snow season for us to train for Milan 2026. These young athletes are the hope for future games," said Li.

Face flushed with cold and frost, 16-year-old Zhang Hangshuo has been training for cross-country skiing for two years and made headway in her technique this winter.

"I want to join the national team at 18 and compete in the Winter Olympics in three years' time," said the youngster, who was previously a basketball player.

Cross-country skiing is an athletics-like sport in the Winter Olympics, and Chinese competitors have been vying to narrow the gap between themselves and the world's leading skiers.

China's Ma Qinghua passes the finish line during the cross-country skiing women's sprint free qualification at the National Cross-Country Skiing Center in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 8, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

"We have been training in the Changbai Mountains for over a month and will be continuing to practice in Harbin for a national championship," said Ma Qinghua, who placed tenth in the cross-country skiing women's 4 x 5km relay at Beijing 2022, the best result for China in its history.

"China is expected to make breakthroughs in short-distance cross-country skiing, and I wish to be a part of that," noted Ma.

Qi Guangpu of China celebrates after winning the freestyle skiing men's aerials final at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, Feb. 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Qi Guangpu, who clinched the men's aerials gold at the Beijing Winter Games, is also likely to be up for his fifth Olympic appearance, according to Ding Weidong, deputy director of Changchun winter sports administrative center. The Chinese veteran has been maintaining a high level of performance, Ding said.

"Italy is a lucky place for Chinese skiers. Back in 2006, Han Xiaopeng won the country's first skiing gold in Turin. I hope they can make new miracles in Milan," said Li Geliang.