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'Snow Dragon' ready for Beijing Olympics after final rehearsal

Tuesday, 01 February 2022 7:41 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 01 February 2022 10:53 AM ]

The National Sliding Center, also known as the "Snow Dragon", the competition venue for the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge events staged the final comprehensive test rehearsal on Monday.

The drill saw participants standing in for athletes and staff members conducting doping test, providing first aid service, as well as holding a simulated award ceremony and news briefing. The venue will open for official training for athletes on Tuesday.

"It is the last rehearsal before the Olympic official training starts. It is very significant as it further tests our competition organization, command systems and the connection and communication between various teams," said Lin Jinwen, director of venue operation team at the National Sliding Center.

The center, basically a track built with 16 curves in the shape of different angles and slopes, is located in Yanqing District of Beijing, and will see the competition for a total of 14 gold medals.

"This rehearsal is more comprehensive, more practical, and closer to the real scenarios. We needed to take into account epidemic prevention and control, while taking care of injured athletes," said Meng Qingkai, leader of the emergency support team at the center.

"The tests we did before were focused on the training itself, whereas this last rehearsal was more comprehensive. Putting all these elements together will be much better," said Gao Yuhan, a track patrol volunteer.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will take place between Feb. 4 and 20, followed by the Winter Paralympics from March 4 to 13, at three competition zones -- downtown Beijing, the capital city's northwestern suburban district of Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou City in neighboring Hebei Province.

(Source: Reuters)

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