Study on China's Preparedness, Competition Landscape and Strategies for the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games

This study summarizes the remarkable achievements and experiences of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, conducts a thorough analysis of our country’s performance in ice and snow sports in the new season post-Olympics, and compares it with leading global ice and snow sports nations. This analysis serves as a crucial means to assess the preparedness and competition landscape for the upcoming Milan Winter Olympics and formulate strategic recommendations. The results reveal the following:1) The scientific and international approaches were crucial levers for the country’s success at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Initiatives such as cross-disciplinary talent selection, physical training, and the formation of multidisciplinary training teams were the primary drivers behind showcasing outstanding performance. 2) Our country’s competitive prowess in the Winter Olympics and the overall development of winter sports remain at an upper-middle level globally. Long-term, stable, and standout dominant events have yet to be established. Discrepancies in competitive levels, talent reserves, and team development still persist in comparison to leading winter sports nations worldwide. 3) At the Beijing Winter Olympics, our athletes secured top 6 placements across 24 events,totaling 38 athletes. In contrast to the 201 foreign athletes who achieved top 6 placements in the aforementioned events, the country faces challenges related to a smaller pool of outstanding athletes, limited depth, and relatively older ages. 4) Unlike the Summer Olympics, the home advantage of the host country at the Winter Olympics is difficult to sustain, and the number of gold medals and medals for the host country at the subsequent away games significantly decreases. 5) During the 2022-2023 season following the Beijing Winter Olympics, our exceptional athletes encountered a myriad of challenges, including decreased competition benefits,indistinct advantages, a scarcity of gold medals, a talent pipeline gap, and the aging of gold medalists. The study recommends a focus on training and achieving seamless, efficient coordination through the decentralization of sports training management by functional departments to steadily improve our performance at the Winter Olympics. It also emphasizes the consolidation of current key Winter Olympic events, the creation and establishment of the country’s competitive advantage in ice and snow sports, and the prioritization of sustainable development of winter sports through the construction of development plans and operation mechanisms aligned with the country’s national conditions, as well as the implementation of scientific training and competition systems.