China made no secret ahead of this year’s Olympics that part of its mission in hosting the event was to prove its prowess in winter sports, and hired more than 50 leading foreign coaches to transform its young athletes into world-beaters.
The Chinese Olympic Committee’s most high-profile coaching hire was the Norwegian biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. His haul of 13 medals over six Olympics, including eight golds, in a sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting is the biggest by a man in any Winter Games discipline.
The recruitment of Bjoerndalen, 48, after he retired from competition in 2018 highlights China’s long-term ambition to use the Games as a launch pad to become a leading winter sports contender, able to compete against the European and North American countries that dominate many events.