According to sports icon and Winter Olympics bid ambassador Li Na, Beijing would host an "athlete-centered" Olympics should it win the bid. (Photo : Reuters)
Li Na, two-time Olympic medalist, three-time world champion and ambassador for China’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, said that Beijing would host an athlete-centered Winter Olympics should it be handed the task of hosting the global sports event.
This week, the sports icon recounted her favorite Olympic memories with a group of college students in the country's capital and shared her involvement as the city's ambassador for its bid in the anticipated Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Li, dubbed as the "Snow Princess," remarked how Beijing will ensure that the needs of the participating athletes will be fully met.
"When it comes to preparing an environment that allows athletes to compete in their best condition, few understand it at the level that the actual athletes do," she said.
"Fortunately, the Beijing 2022 team understands this, which is why they have brought myself and fellow members of Team China on board since the very beginning to provide suggestions on how to provide a truly athlete-centered Winter Olympics," Li added.
Li, hailed as China's first freestyle skiing world champion, is regarded as part of the generation of athletes that has aided in creating China's stature as a winter sports competitor in the international scene.
Li has been part of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games development play since the very beginning, alongside other popular sports icons such as former NBA star Yao Ming, Olympic figure skating champions Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue, and Olympic gold medalist long track speed skater Zhang Hong.
The team has been planning to deliver a version of the said competition that would set higher standards for athlete experience.
Li shared that an "athlete-centered" Olympic, for Beijing, is one that would feature a carefully designed plan catering to the "end-to-end" athlete journey, including the preparation of most effective conditions before, during and after the games, medical transport, as well as cultural activities.
"You have to think both big and small when designing an Olympics specially catering athletes' needs," the skiing champ enthused.
"On one hand, you have to ensure that the overall atmosphere is memorable, but then you also have to focus on details such as barrier-free athletes' villages and convenient transportation to competition zones, all of which are included in the Beijing 2022 bid," she further remarked.
Beijing, together with Zhangjiakou, a Hebei Province city 200 kilometers northwest of the Chinese capital, submitted its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, with Almaty, Kazakhstan, being its last competitor.
The International Olympics Committee will select the host city in Kuala Lumpur on July 31.
