Peak preparations reach dizzy heights

Jump up in class

To date, China's sole representative in ski jumping at an Olympics is Chang Xinyue, who finished 20th in the women's normal hill competition at the 2018 Games in South Korea.

China's ski jumping team is currently training at a nearby high-performance base in Hebei province, and is expected to move to the new center as early as next month for an intensive training program designed to clinch Olympic qualification spots and possibly even put some athletes in contention for top-eight finishes at the home Games.

With interior decoration almost done, the ski jumping center was officially unveiled to the public on Monday night when Hebei sports bureau hosted an opening ceremony for the province's second annual winter sports games and carnival.

The completion of the center heralds the readiness of all four 2022 competition venues in the Zhangjiakou area, which also include the newly built National Cross-Country Skiing Center, the National Biathlon Center and the existing Genting Resort for freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

The snow sports co-host has been linked to downtown Beijing by a high-speed railway, which started operation at the end of 2019 and cuts travel time between the two zones from three hours by car to 50 minutes on the train.

However, the international debut of the new cluster has been put on hold following the cancelation and delay of a series of International Ski Federation World Cup meets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite these difficulties, an FIS delegation comprised of 27 technical experts and event directors visited Zhangjiakou for a venue inspection tour last month and left with positive feedback.

"It was truly impressive to see the jumping hill and cross-country stadium in their finished shape and form," said Lasse Ottesen, race director for the FIS' Nordic combined team.

"We are currently having productive meetings with the local organizing committee which will benefit us greatly for the future test program and Olympic Games to come."

The FIS hailed the visit as the first time all of its disciplines had carried out their technical inspections at the same time.

Despite the cancellation of the official test events, Beijing 2022 organizers are working closely with the International Olympic Committee and winter sports' international governing bodies to draw up replacement testing plans.

As part of the ongoing Hebei winter sports games, a domestic cross-country competition involving both adult and youth teams from cities across the province is taking place at the Olympic cross-country center as an initial test for the course, snow-making and lighting systems.