Sliding into a new set of standards

China's plan to transfer the skills of track and field athletes to winter sports ahead of Beijing 2022 is already paying off

Victories in recent international competitions have proved China's ambition of turning long jumpers into skeleton pilots is much more than just a theory.

In fact, the nation's newcomers to skeleton have successfully transferred the speed and power of track and field to the lightning-fast sliding sport more seamlessly than anyone dared imagine.

China's Yan Wengang clocked 51.27 seconds to edge local favorites Fabian Kuchler and Cedric Renner in winning the fifth leg of the Europe Cup series in Konigssee, Germany on Sunday, becoming the first Chinese to win a race on the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation's secondary circuit.

Last month in Whistler, Canada, Yan's teammate Geng Wenqiang got China's season off to a flying start by winning the first race of the North American Cup, an entry-level IBSF series restricted to competitors outside the world's top 15.

To put things in perspective, neither Yan nor Geng had ever seen a skeleton sled until early 2016, when they traded perennial long jump training for the opportunity to hurtle headfirst down a frozen track at a top speed of 140 kp/h.

They are part of China's ambitious cross-sport development program, which was initiated in 2015 after Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The idea is to draft talent from summer events to make up for the nation's shortage of athletes in Western-dominated winter sports.

Joining Yan and Geng on China's bobsled and skeleton national team is former 100m sprinter Zhang Peimeng, who competed at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Summer Olympics.

With confidence boosted by the two international wins and Geng's 13th overall finish at last February's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, China is taking serious aim at podium finishes in 2022.

"The gap between us and the world's best remains big, to be honest," deputy team manager Sun Fan said after Yan's win on the weekend.

"But confidence-wise, the improving results encourage us to believe in ourselves and the everyday work we are doing.

"It proves that nothing is impossible, regardless of the time frame for getting ready for 2022. Hopefully, we will be able to close the gap and deliver some surprises at home."

To facilitate its fledging program, Team China has hired five foreign coaches and technical specialists, led by 1998 World Championships winner Wilfried Schneider of Germany and Jeff Pain, who won a silver medal for Canada at the 2006 Turin Games.

The team's recent breakthroughs have made the sport's governing body take notice.

Ivo Ferriani, president of IBSF, told China Daily in Shanghai last week that the sliding world is expecting to see the host put on a show in 2022.

"Sliding sports are not so popular in China at the moment, but the Chinese association is creating the condition to try to win medals," the Italian former bobsledder said before attending the opening ceremony of China's 5th mass ice and snow sports season in Shanghai.

"This is a very ambitious program, but it's possible to achieve that goal because of the resources, the talent and the coaches put together in a top-level program.

"It sounds like a mission impossible within three years, but I am sure there will be chances for China to enjoy some fantastic moments during the 2022 Games."

Ferriani said the physical and technical nature of sliding sports makes them ideal for converted track and field athletes.

"In bobsled and skeleton, it's easy to transfer from track and field. You can choose a sprinter or a very fast thrower, discus or hammer, even a weightlifter, to train for our sports at the highest level," he said.

Last week's launch of China's mass ice and snow sports season, part of the national drive to realize the goal of involving 300 million citizens in winter sports, was attended by leaders from all seven international winter sports federations.

A series of low-entry training sessions and exhibitions of winter sports will be staged nationwide through March.