New faces lace up for China
"They are all quite mature athletes who know what they are doing with their own approach," national team head coach Zhang Jing said of the veterans at the camp.
"Their self-discipline and attention to detail in training are very impressive.
"I hope they can set the example for our young skaters, push them to work harder and inspire the next generation to follow their lead to be more disciplined and more focused."
After winning four medals, including two golds, on home ice at Beijing 2022, the Chinese national program granted a rest year to reigning men's 1,000m Olympic champion Ren and three-time women's Olympian Fan last season. In their absence, the ever-ambitious squad focused on honing young talents under the guidance of Zhang, who took over Team China last summer following a 10-year stint with the Hungarian national team.
With only one accomplished skater in Lin at her disposal, Zhang guided a relatively inexperienced squad at all six stops of the 2022-23 World Cup season, bringing home a modest haul of 10 medals but plenty of valuable lessons for the youngsters.
Lin, who made his international debut for China last season after missing Beijing 2022, took pride from contributing to the talent development in his adopted country.
"As a senior athlete, I always try to share as much experience as possible with young teammates and help them grow," Lin, formerly known as Lim Hyo-jun, said through an interpreter.
"Now with more veterans with international experience coming back, I really look forward to working together with everyone to help improve Team China's performances in the new season," added Lin, who won 1,500m gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics representing host South Korea.
After being banned by the sport's governing body in South Korea in 2019 due to a legal dispute with a teammate that had jeopardized his career, Lin decided to switch nationality in 2021 to continue skating professionally, but had to wait until the beginning of the 2022-23 season to be eligible to race in the Chinese uniform.
