Which Chinese Athletes Have a Shot at Gold at Beijing 2022?

Since the turn of the century, China has never finished lower than third in the Summer Olympics medals table. In the Winter Games, however, it has been a different story. The country’s best-ever result was a seventh-place finish at Salt Lake City in 2010, when four of its five gold medals came in the same event: short track speedskating. In 2018, China won only one gold — again in the short track — and finished 16th in the medals table.

But the 2022 version of Team China is in a different league to its predecessors. Booming grassroots participation in winter sports, combined with massive state support, has produced a team of both strength and depth for China’s first home Winter Olympics. There’s far more to this squad than superstar skier Eileen Gu.

China’s sports authorities haven’t announced a medal target for this year’s Games, which begin on Feb. 4, but Chinese athletes are strong contenders to claim gold in more than a dozen events. Beijing 2022 could even see China top the medals table for the first time — in the past eight Winter Olympics, the country placing first has never needed to win more than 14 golds.

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