DELIVERING the NEED for SPEED Conditions at Beijing’S New CustomBuilt Skating Oval Conducive to WorldRecord Times at Winter Games
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20 | Monday, April 12, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY SPORTS OLYMPICS DELIVERING THE NEED FOR SPEED Conditions at Beijing’s new custombuilt skating oval conducive to worldrecord times at Winter Games New-look Capital Indoor Stadium passes the test As the last skater stepped off the ice, a 10-day test program for By SUN XIAOCHEN Beijing 2022 concluded at the [email protected] refurbished Capital Indoor Stadi- um on Saturday. ptimizing state-of-the-art The 53-year-old indoor venue, technology and interna- which originally housed China’s tional expertise, Beijing first man-made ice rink, tested the 2022 organizers are defy- short-track speed skating and fig- Oing the geographical odds to pro- ure skating competitions with a duce the fastest possible ice at the series of events entitled “Experi- National Speed Skating Oval. ence Beijing”. Located in downtown Beijing, The program marked the reno- where the altitude is close to sea lev- vated venue’s debut following the el, the venue passed its first official completion of refurbishment work test program with flying colors last for the 2022 Winter Olympics. week, when a series of personal Built in 1968 as a multi-purpose bests by Chinese skaters showed the facility, the arena hosted volleyball ice is approaching the level usually during the 2008 Summer found on high-altitude tracks. Olympics in Beijing. Featuring The results have given Canadian advanced design concepts, the ice-making expert Mark Messer and gymnasium was capable of stag- his team confidence that more ing both summer and winter records can fall at next year’s sports as early as 1980. Olympics. Based on its original design, the “I don’t see any reason why this venue could accommodate can’t be one of the fastest ovals in 18,000 seated spectators, with the world ... but we just need to find competition space for 16 table the right parameters to make that tennis tables. happen,” said Messer, who was Under the wooden floor, there hired by Beijing 2022 to prepare the are prefabricated concrete slabs ice for the long-track discipline at and refrigeration tubes to make his sixth Winter Games. ice for winter sports. Entering the Long-track skaters commonly 2022 Beijing Winter Games cycle, break records on high-altitude the stadium underwent a two-year tracks, where thinner air — com- renovation. pared to the denser atmosphere in The exterior was refurbished in flat areas — can give athletes that keeping with its original appear- vital one-hundredth-of-a-second ance, retaining the beige walls, edge in pursuit of glory. Fifteen of dark glass windows and facades the 16 current world speed skating decorated with vertical lines. How- records were set at two highland ever, the interior has been thor- venues in Salt Lake City, United oughly transformed to meet the States and Calgary, Canada — both demands of the Winter Olympics. situated over 1,100 meters above sea “The Capital Indoor Stadium is level. a historical building with artistic Messer and his Chinese col- The newly built National Speed Skating Oval played host to local athletes last week as part of the 10day ‘Experience Beijing’ ice sports test value, and we had to make leagues, however, are refusing to program — a series of events designed to prepare venues for next year’s Winter Olympics. PHOTOS BY WEI XIAOHAO / CHINA DAILY rule Beijing’s newly built Olympic oval out of the world-record equation. “There are so many different fac- tors you have to control to get the best. We’ve gone to other lowland ovals that were very fast,” Messer said, whose team prepared the low- lying rink for the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, where five Olympic records were renewed. Capital Indoor Stadium “We are very close to breaking world records at sea level, which is changes within its original struc- not very common. So I see no reason ture,” said Ding Dong, venue man- why we shouldn’t be able to set ager of the Beijing 2022 Olympic those standards here.” competitions site. Wang Beixing, competition The number of seats has been director of speed skating for Beijing cut to 15,000, but they are now 2022, echoed those sentiments. wider and more comfortable for “The gap between high and low the audience. In addition, 80 bar- rinks has been narrowing over the rier-free spectator seats have past decade. It’s not impossible for been installed. The venue has also us to make the ice fast enough for been upgraded with a professional new records to be set, especially Athletes gave the ice quality at the oval a resounding thumbs-up Canadian ice-making expert Mark Messer reckons world records lighting system and equipped with with the venue facilitated by the during last week’s test program. could fall at the National Speed Skating Oval next year. a world-leading integrated video new refrigeration system,” said display system. Wang, the bronze medalist in wom- As part of Beijing 2022’s prom- en’s 500m at the 2010 Vancouver in a 500m youth race, left the track understand the way the systems ery range, the oval features Asia’s ise to host sustainable and green Games. mightily impressed. work together and get everything largest ice surface (12,000 square Games, the venue has changed its Dubbed the “Ice Ribbon” due to “For me, this ice feels already per- coordinated into one package.” meters). ice-making technology to an eco- its slick exterior lighting beams, the fect,” he said. “The thickness is just Feng Gang, one of four Chinese Beyond 2022, it will diversify to We are very close to friendly system that uses carbon Beijing oval is the first Olympic right, the flatness is superb and the ice technicians on Messer’s crew, host the likes of figure skating, curl- breaking world dioxide as a clean refrigerant, speed skating venue to make ice smoothness makes it easy to push added that changes to the indoor ing and hockey. instead of the environmentally with an environmentally friendly for speed. I don’t really see anything temperature and humidity when Messer expects his Chinese col- records at sea level, harmful substance Freon. The cooling system that uses carbon that can be improved upon.” spectators are allowed entry will leagues to carry on with operations which is not very new system also shortens the dioxide as a refrigerant, instead of Despite the positive feedback, present additional challenges. up to international standards after time it takes to make ice and tran- the harmful substance Freon. Messer and his Chinese assistants According to a provisional plan he sees out his 2022 contract. common. So I see no sition between speed skating and The new system, which freezes are certainly not about to rest on agreed by Beijing 2022, the Interna- “We want to leave a legacy here,” reason why we figure skating. quicker and is more stable than the their laurels. tional Olympic Committee and win- he said. “In some of the past Olym- After the Winter Olympics, the old technique, helps maintain con- “This is a very valuable competi- ter sports international federations, pics, we haven’t had a legacy. We’ve shouldn’t be able to Capital Indoor Stadium will be sistent temperature, density and tion for us,” said Messer. “We can see larger scale test events involving for- come into the building, we’ve done set those standards able to stage various high-level ice firmness of ice across the 400-meter the effect of the changes that we eign athletes and team officials will the Games, then left. here.” and summer sports events, fulfill- track, allowing skaters to push to make to the ice with temperature be staged at a number of Beijing “This time there is a great legacy ing the goal of leaving a post- their limits. and different factors that we can venues, including the oval, from plan for this building. So we want to Mark Messer, Ice-making Games legacy, according to Ding. Among the athletes racing at the control now that we couldn’t before. September to December this year. make sure that when we leave, there expert for Beijing 2022 oval’s debut session on Wednesday, “But there are still a lot of Built on the former site of the are trained personnel here that can XINHUA Chen Chuang, who finished second improvements to make. We need to 2008 Beijing Summer Games’ arch- carry on.” High-flying Johansson targets ski jumping gold in Beijing Norwegian ski jumper Robert the recent FIS Nordic World Ski jing could well come from 24-year- the slopes as the pandemic gradual- Johansson hopes to stand atop the Championships in Oberstdorf, Ger- old compatriot Halvor Egner ly abates. podium during the 2022 Beijing many. Now he wants to maintain Granerud, who won this season’s “We missed supporters. People Winter Olympics and says he is “sat- that momentum as he targets gold FIS World Cup overall title. gathering under the hill are an addi- isfied with the high level of his per- at next year’s Winter Olympics. “I’ve seen his development so tional source of energy for everyone formances this season”. “I’m not going to hide that I aim as I’m not particularly surprised that who starts the competition,” said the The 31-year-old is a three-time high as possible. I want to become he achieved success,” Johansson 31-year-old. Olympic medalist, claiming gold in both the world champion and the said of Granerud. “He has main- “In my opinion, the International the team competition as well as two Olympic champion in the individual tained his top form throughout Ski Federation did everything to individual bronzes at the 2018 Win- competitions,” Johansson said in an the season, which is a great feat.