Aiming to flip the script

For quite a while following Beijing 2022, the famed track at the National Speed Skating Oval in the Chinese capital had been tied to lingering regret for Ning Zhongyan, following his disappointing home Olympic campaign.

Back on his familiar home ice this week, the star skater is determined to rewrite the narrative, as he is eager to produce a strong start to the new season's opening World Cup leg in Beijing.

Ning is among a total of 250 elite skaters from over 20 countries and regions who have signed up to contest the 2026-27 World Cup series' curtain-raiser in Beijing, and is no doubt the most eye-catching name among them after claiming China's first men's Olympic speed skating gold in the 1,500m with a tournament record time of 1 min and 41.98 sec at the Milano-Cortina Games in February.

At the bustling oval track in Beijing, known as the "Ice Ribbon", Ning expects to shake off his bitter memories of four years ago with a triumphant return to the venue that holds mixed feelings for him.

"Without the disappointment in Beijing, I feel like the story of my career wouldn't have been written as perfectly as it has been," Ning, who finished seventh in the 1,500m — his strength event — at Beijing 2022, said in the documentary Unmatched on Sina Weibo earlier this year.

"I actually felt a little lost after Milan.

"I suddenly achieved the goal I'd chased for years, and I had no idea where to go next — my motivation was gone.

"But stepping back on the rink for this year's world championships in March right after the Olympics, I found my footing again.

"The moment I got on the ice, I knew what my new goal would be.

"Now, my focus is preparing for next year's world championships (in Beijing) and it starts from here," Ning said, referring to the ISU flagship meet, also set to be held at the Ice Ribbon in February.

The 27-year-old Ning, a native of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, has never finished on top of the podium in Beijing, racking up one silver and three bronze medals at two previous World Cup events in 2023 and 2024 at the Ice Ribbon.

Joining Ning in spearheading the home squad are China's first men's Olympic champion Gao Tingyu, who won a historic gold in 500m on the very same track at Beijing 2022, women's middle-distance specialist Han Mei and sprinter Tian Ruining.

The Chinese contingent, featuring a blend of youth and experience, is expected to deliver a gutsy performance against a strong international field, hoping for a confidence boost ahead of its home campaign at the ISU Worlds, which will run from Feb 25-28.

International stars set to descend on the Ice Ribbon include the Netherlands' Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong, the women's defending 1,500m Olympic champion, her fellow Milano-Cortina 2026 gold medalist Marijke Groenewoud (women's mass start) and rising Czech star Metodej Jilek, who impressed on his Olympic debut by winning the men's 10,000m gold in Milan.

Rijpma-De Jong put her newfound ambitions with the Dutch track cycling program on hold to fully commit to the Beijing meet, with the new skating season about to get into full swing.

The 31-year-old middle-distance specialist had already been selected to join the Dutch squad at last month's track cycling world championships held in Shanghai, but had to turn down the invite citing her icy pursuit in Beijing as taking priority.

"That was awesome, but I had to choose not to go to China (Shanghai) because I have to skate the Dutch trials to qualify for this season's speed skating World Cup events," Rijpma-De Jong told the ISU website.

"This season, we'll have to see how to combine the sports. It's trial and error," said the Heerenveen native, who won two bronze medals at Beijing 2022 in 1,500m and team pursuit.

"Next season, with Los Angeles 2028 in sight, the balance may shift a bit more towards cycling."

Set to run from Friday to Sunday, the Beijing stop kicks off the season's six-leg World Cup series while serving as a critical dress rehearsal for next year's world championships at the same venue.

A total of eight men's and women's individual events — ranging from 500m to 5,000m, as well as team pursuit and mass start races — will be contested over the weekend, as the star-studded field of international contenders is all set to get the first season of the new Winter Olympic cycle off to a flying start.

Ticket sales opened on Monday morning, with event organizers busy completing final tests on the ice track, timing devices and service protocols for athletes and spectators.

The Beijing World Cup event is co-organized by the Winter Sports Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Chinese Skating Association and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, with operational support from the Beijing Sports Competition Management and International Exchange Center and Beijing BeiAo Group.