Yanqing slopes challenging: Russi

By Lu Wenao Source:Global Times Published: 2019/11/6 21:58:41

China ‘too late’ to have elite alpine skiers at Beijing 2022: Swiss great


Swiss alpine skiing great Bernhard Russi Photo: Courtesy of swisscham.org



Swiss alpine skiing great Bernhard Russi said the slopes in Yanqing district, a northwestern suburb of Beijing which will host the alpine skiing competitions at the 2022 Olympics, will be very challenging. 

"The mountain in Yanqing is surprisingly good. I think this will be one of the best racing mountains in the world," Russi told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Sino-Swiss Business Awards ceremony in Beijing. 

"It's going to be a very challenging course."

A FIS World Cup alpine skiing event is scheduled to be held in the Yanqing mountains in February, the first time China will host the race in the series' 53-year history.

"Preparations are on schedule, and I haven't seen any major problems," said Russi, the gold medalist at the 1972 Olympics downhill event and now chairman of the Alpine Committee of the International Ski Federation (FIS). 

"Of course there's a lot to do, like technical issues, including snowmaking and the gondolas. But these require special construction and I'm very positive. I think it will be very good."

Test run

The World Cup event in Yanqing is expected to be the first test event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

The Xiaohaituo Mountain in Yanqing will host the alpine skiing competition at the Winter Olympics, which Russi believes will be ranked among the world's 10 best.

"Yanqing will be a key area for good skiers in the future. And Chinese skiers will become better and better. As they improve, they will look for more challenging mountains," said Russi, also an FIS technical adviser for downhill course design.

"That's why I think it's going to work very well in the future. The sustainability is there." 

Expectations were initially not high for an Olympic downhill course in Beijing, as the metropolis has little natural snow in winter seasons.

"We are in the region where we do not have much snow, but for world-class ski racing, too much snow is not good," Russi said. "If you have no snow at all, it's much better because in the World Cup everywhere in the world, we have to produce man-made snow to have it [the course] concrete and packed."

A question of time

Russi admitted it is a little bit late to see a Chinese alpine skier at the top of the podium at the Olympics, as he believes it takes years to see an athlete reach world-class levels.

"To be at the top, it's probably a little bit too late at the Olympics," Russi said. "The Chinese Ski Association is doing a very good job in a very short time. But it's not the question of the job, it's also a question of time."

It takes at least five years to see a promising athlete to be at world-class levels, Russi said. Chinese athletes in alpine skiing have never won any major international title.

"They need certain points to participate in the World Cup. This will be very difficult for them," Russi said. "But I think they have a plan. They have good trainers and some good talent. And you have to be a little bit lucky with good races."

China has vowed to have 300 million people to participate in winter sports by 2022, when Beijing becomes the first city in the world to host both Summer and Winter Olympics. 

China's fast-growing enthusiasm in winter sports will also benefit Switzerland, Russi said.

"The more Chinese people are aware of winter sports and snow, they will automatically be aware of the beautiful nature. Switzerland and other countries, have beautiful locations where you can ski," Russi said. 

"Chinese people want to live in this beautiful surrounding. For deep mountains, they have to come to Switzerland because it is close to the ski tracks."

But he ruled out starting a ski academy in China. 

"I had an alpine academy in Switzerland, but this was a long time ago. I did it for 20 years in a row. It was a downhill racing school and a certain amount of risks were involved," he said. 

"In that time, there were no accidents in my school. But after 20 years, you start thinking I have been very lucky so far. So you better stop now."

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