Beijing all set for winter thrills

Buckle up and brace for impact! The breathtaking sprints, jumps and collisions are back on the tracks and slopes of the Chinese capital, with fans in Beijing all set for a thrilling treat of winter sports action.

With Beijing's full set of Olympic-standard venues bustling with preparatory work, the world's first dual Olympics host city is gearing up for an exciting winter.

Nine international events, covering seven ice and snow disciplines, are scheduled over the next four months, keeping the legacy of Beijing 2022 alive almost three years on from the Winter Games.

Kicking off the Beijing swing of action will be the fast and furious skeleton race at the National Sliding Center in Yanqing district in the northwestern suburbs, where all the world's elite skeleton racers — including four of the six men's and women's medalists at Beijing 2022 — will return for the 2024-25 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup series' third leg on Saturday.

Over 60 athletes from 16 countries have arrived in Beijing and are already testing their limits along the winding, 1.9-kilometer track, known as the "Flying Snow Dragon", which, with its daunting chutes and steep curves, takes extreme courage, composure and delicate control to tame.

The host has qualified eight athletes for the home race, led by men's world championships bronze medalist Yin Zheng and women's runner-up in Yanqing last year, Zhao Dan, in a bid to make faster breakthroughs against elite international competition that includes reigning Olympic champion duo Christopher Grotheer and Hannah Neise of Germany.

The track will continue hosting four events of the lower-tier skeleton Asian Cup through early December, before staging a second World Cup event, this time for the luge, in February.