Han, Ning ready to challenge world's best in Milan, says China's speed skating coach

MILAN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's Dutch coach Johan de Wit has expressed confidence in his skaters Han Mei and Ning Zhongyan after the duo's first training session on the Olympic ice on Monday ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

"I'm 100 percent satisfied with the work with both players," said De Wit. "We developed to a stable spot among the top of the world, and I'm really happy with the results. I really hope they will skate their best races ever here in the Olympics."

Invited by Japanese Olympic gold medalist Miho Takagi, Han and Ning joined the international training group guided by De Wit in 2023 to prepare for the Milan-Cortina Games.

Two-time Olympian Ning finished third overall in the men's 1,500m World Cup standings this season, entering Milan-Cortina 2026 as a primary medal contender.

De Wit noted significant progress in Ning's performance in the past three years, highlighting his growing consistency.

"Ning sometimes skated fast in the past, but most of the time he didn't end up on the podium," De Wit said. "Now he is on the podium [in almost] every competition. His stability is much higher. He is faster than ever before."

The coach shared a similar sentiment regarding Han, noting that her level has "improved a lot" as well.

Han trained alongside Takagi on Monday, with a hallmark of De Wit's program being the collaboration between Chinese and Japanese skaters, a rarity in a sport often defined by fierce rivalries.

"There is no rivalry," De Wit said. "We are a team, and they help each other get better. If you put top-level athletes together, their mentality is different. They only learn from each other and give each other positive energy."

The speed skating competition is scheduled to begin on February 7 in the Milano Speed Skating Stadium. Though the facility is temporary, De Wit spoke highly of the venue. "The ice is pretty good," he said, noting that the Junior World Cup, an Olympic trail in the same venue last November, was pretty fast. "So I think it is possible to skate fast here, though world records may not be possible."

American Jordan Stolz and Dutch skater Femke Kok have dominated the recent World Cup circuits, but De Wit said he is urging his skaters to ignore the resumes of their opponents.

"Kok and Stolz are incredible skaters, and if they skate good here, probably they will win. But we will also try to skate really fast, and they have to beat us. So, I don't mind. We only focus on ourselves, and not on the others," said De Wit, who declined to set specific medal targets for Han and Ning.