Chinese short track speed skaters conduct their first training session in Milan, Italy on February 2, 2026. Photo: VCG

China has launched open recruitment for the next head coach of its national short track speed skating team on Wednesday, a move aimed at rebuilding one of the country's traditional Winter Olympic powerhouses after a disappointing campaign at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

In a notice published on the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport's website, it announced that it is seeking one head coach to lead the national team through April 30, 2028, underscoring that the appointment is designed to prepare the squad for the 2028 phase of the Olympic cycle rather than extending to the 2030 Winter Olympics. 

According to the notice, the successful candidate will be responsible for designing the national team's long-term and annual training plans, overseeing race tactics and in-competition decision-making, coordinating the coaching staff and managing preparations for major international competitions.

The application period will close on August 4, with shortlisted candidates scheduled to present their coaching plans before an evaluation committee on August 11.

The decision to publicly recruit a new head coach strongly indicates that coach Zhang Jing's tenure with the national team has ended or will not continue, even though the Winter Sports Management Center has not explicitly announced her departure.

The position is open to qualified domestic coaches only, including those working with provincial teams, universities, sports organizations and clubs.

Candidates are generally required to have at least five years of coaching experience and to have coached at major international competitions such as the Olympics, world championships or Asian Winter Games, the notice said. Applicants must also have competed internationally as former short track athletes and reached finals at elite events.

However, one clause in the recruitment notice stands out. Former skaters who have won two or more Olympic gold medals during their competitive careers are exempt from the coaching experience and major-event coaching requirements, provided they satisfy the other eligibility criteria. 

Among Chinese short track athletes, that exemption appears to narrow the pool to a handful of Olympic greats, including Wang Meng, Yang Yang, Zhou Yang, Wu Dajing and Ren Ziwei, each of whom has won at least two Olympic gold medals. Whether any of them intends to apply remains unknown.

The recruitment follows China's most difficult Olympic short track campaign in decades.

At the 2026 Olympics, China, entering the Games as one of the medal contenders, collected just one silver medal, with Sun Long finishing runner-up in the men's 1,000 meters. The team failed to win a gold medal in the sport for the first time since Salt Lake City 2002, while its lone medal represented the country's lowest short track haul at a Winter Olympics since then. 

Short track has traditionally been China's most successful Winter Olympic discipline. Since Yang became China's first Winter Olympic champion by winning the women's 500 meters at Salt Lake City in 2002, the country has consistently relied on the sport to deliver medals, producing stars such as Wang, Zhou and Wu.

The latest head coach recruitment reflects Chinese sports authorities' effort to reset the program ahead of the next Olympic cycle. 

According to the notice, the evaluation will prioritize candidates' technical expertise, coaching achievements, innovation and leadership ability, while emphasizing preparations for the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps as the team's long-term objective even though the coaching contract runs only through April 2028.

A short track world championship is also scheduled to be held in Beijing in 2028.

The recruitment committee will comprise officials from the Winter Sports Management Center, representatives from the national short track team and veteran experts in the sport, with the center's disciplinary body overseeing the process. 

Following interviews and evaluations, the recommended candidate will be publicly announced before a formal appointment is made.