Beijing, China, October 20, 2024: China's short track speed skating team has announced a 12-skater roster for the 2024-25 season International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Tour, Xinhua reports.
Olympic champions Liu Shaolin, Liu Shaoang, Lin Xiaojun, and 2024 World Championships 1,500m winner Sun Long will lead the men's team, while Wang Ye and Gong Li, who claimed mixed relay gold at the 2024 worlds, will headline the women's team.
Men: Liu Shaoang, Lin Xiaojun, Sun Long, Li Wenlong, Liu Shaolin, Zhu Yiding.
Women: Wang Ye, Gong Li, Zhang Chutong, Xu Aili, Zang Yize, Wang Xinran.
According to team manager Liu Chenyu, six skaters automatically qualified based on their performances at last season's World Championships and World Cup events, while the remaining spots were earned through domestic trials.
Notable skaters Fan Kexin and Ren Ziwei were absent from the roster. The manager explained that Fan, who rested a while after last year's World Championships, is temporarily ineligible for international competition after re-entering China's anti-doping program and will rejoin later in the season, while Ren still needs time to recover from injury.
The ISU World Tour will feature a condensed schedule this season, replacing the World Cup series. Athletes will compete in three individual events - 500m, 1,000m, and 1,500m leading to heightened competition.
China's head coach Zhang Jing viewed the three consecutive tournaments as both a challenge and a valuable opportunity to prepare for future events, including the 2026 Winter Olympics.
China’s team trained in Guangxi before heading to the high-altitude regions of Livigno and Bormio in Italy, where they integrated high-altitude cycling - a common summer training method for European skaters - into their regime. The team also conducted on-ice joint training sessions with national teams from Italy, France and Australia.
Zhang explained that the cycling program aimed to help athletes enhance their endurance, particularly over longer distances, while also providing an opportunity for exchanges. "Our athletes were able to observe the training routines and lifestyle habits of top international athletes while also adapting to local conditions, climate and diet."
The upcoming 2024-25 season is packed with international competitions. In addition to the six legs of the World Tour and the World Championships, the team will compete in the Four Continents Championships, the Winter Universiade, the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin from February 7-14, 2025 and three legs of the Youth World Cup series.