Sheer icy determination

After winning the International Ski Federation's World Cup season opener in Changchun in late December, Xu remained with the national team in Jilin province at a closed-door training camp for the next month and a half as the outbreak was peaking in China before being cleared to travel to Europe for the Cup series' final three events in Russia and Belarus.

Although dealing with inconvenience of traveling between European countries at a time when the pandemic ravaged the continent, Xu managed to pull off some impressive runs to finish second in the overall standings of the six-event series.

China's women's curling team are also keeping the action sliding along with behind-closed-doors training sessions in Tianjin.

All of the national team curlers retested negative for COVID-19 following a two-week quarantine upon their return from Canada, where the team had been preparing for the since canceled world championships, originally scheduled for March 14-22 in Prince George.

Having witnessed China's efforts to balance safety with providing logistical support for its sports teams, the curling squad's Italian coach Marco Mariani believes there is no better place to focus on athletic pursuits these days.

"I feel very protected here in China right now, and this is because, despite the fact that the COVID-19 contagion in China is currently under control, China's leadership has absolutely not let down its guard," the 2006 Olympian said in the news release.

"I'm very worried about my family in Italy, honestly. I think if they were in China right now, they'd be safer."