China's 'father of skiing' hopes games will attract more ordinary folks to the sport

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BEIJING: Shan Zhaojian stretches his arms and legs to warm up as the 83-year-old prepares to ski down a mountain just outside China's capital of Beijing. The bespectacled skier is technically retired, but thanks to his nickname as China's 'father of skiing', he has been a prominent icon in the country's c

BEIJING: Shan Zhaojian stretches his arms and legs to warm up as the 83-year-old prepares to ski down a mountain just outside China's capital of Beijing.

Shan has become a well-known advocate for the sport in the country in the decades since he was China's first national skiing champion in 1957. Shan, who hails from China's mountainous and wintry northeastern Jilin province, joined a professional skiing training team in 1954 at 16. At the time, he recalled, he trained in his normal daily clothes, donning another layer when they got wet.He retired at 24 because of injuries but continued to play a prominent role in the sport, taking up positions such as the secretary-general of the Chinese Ski Association, from which he has retired.

China has said it wants to become a winter sports powerhouse, although it currently trails far behind the likes of Norway, Canada and the United States in terms of Olympic medals. To date, it has won a total of 13 gold medals since it first sent a team to the Winter Games in 1980.

 

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