China names flag bearers for opening ceremony

Men's speed skating star Gao Tingyu and women's skeleton pilot Zhao Dan have been named as flag bearers for the host's delegation at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, according to Ni Huizhong, secretary-general of the Chinese Winter Olympic delegation.

Gao, the first Chinese man ever to win an Olympic medal in speed skating, after finishing third in the 500m at the 2018 Games in South Korea, will share the honor with Zhao, a teenage skeleton athlete, of carrying the Chinese national flag into the opening ceremony during the delegation march on Friday, when Beijing welcomes the world to the Olympic Games for a second time, after having held the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Gao, who came off the World Cup season with a gold and a silver in the sprint event leading up to Beijing 2022, expects to improve on his bronze finish in the 2018 Games and finish higher on the home podium.

Zhao, a 19-year-old from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, made a name for herself in the sliding sport by winning an Intercontinental Cup title, a second-tier circuit of the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation series, in Innsbruck, Austria, in December.

As a representative of the host's cross-sports talent development system, Zhao, who used to be a long jumper before being selected in 2018 for China's new national skeleton program, will challenge the world's best in the sport at the National Sliding Center.

A total of 176 Chinese athletes will compete in 104 medal events, which will run from Friday through Feb 20 in three zones in Beijing and Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.