Fatih Arda Ipcioglu of Turkey adjusts his goggles during the men's normal hill individual ski jumping trial round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 6, 2022. (Matthias Schrader/AP/Pool via Xinhua)
The sports facilities in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games wowed Turkish athletes, who praised the facilities as "excellent investments" for raising new athletes.
ISTANBUL, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The sports facilities in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games wowed Turkish athletes, as they praised the facilities as "excellent investments for the future" in terms of raising new athletes.
Turkish ski jumper told Xinhua at a virtual interview from Beijing that he was rather impressed by the National Ski Jumping Center located in Chongli District of Zhangjiakou City, in north China's Hebei Province.
"When I first saw the ramp, I don't know how to put it into words, but I thought it was magnificent," Ipcioglu talked about the center, which was given the nickname "Snow Ruyi," as it has an "S-type" curve that resembles the shape of "Ruyi," a traditional Chinese ornamental object for luck.
Photo taken on Oct. 23, 2021 shows the National Ski Jumping Center in Zhangjiakou competition zone of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)
In his view, all the sports facilities he saw during the Games in Beijing offered everything a professional athlete would need, and they are all equipped with high technology.
This 24-year-old athlete said these sports complexes should be considered as investments for the future in terms of training new athletes.
Fatih Arda Ipcioglu of Turkey competes during the Ski Jumping men's normal hill individual qualification at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Dai Tianfang)
Ipcioglu missed the chance of competing in the finals during the Games, yet he had his best score ever in the semifinals.
He thought that Turks are not strong followers of ski jumping as the history of this branch in the country goes back to only 15 years ago.
"Yes, we caused a splash, attracting Turkish people's attention, we made them proud of us," he said.
Turkish athlete Ozlem Carikcioglu is skiing in Erzurum, Turkey in Jan. 2021. (Xinhua)
Speaking about the downhill courses at the National Alpine Ski Centre in Yanqing, Turkey's alpine skier Ozlem Carikcioglu said that they were steep, much different than those in her hometown in Turkey.
The 28-year-old athlete, who contested in the giant slalom and slalom races, completed the tracks successfully.
In her view, if Turkish athletes will have the option to do their training in China's tracks, they will have more chances to grab success in the next Winter Olympic Games.
Winners celebrate during the flower ceremony of Ski Jumping Mixed Team Final Round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
"I had a chat at the chairlift with the head coach of Switzerland. They also consider coming here for their training. They also really liked the tracks," she noted.
According to Bulent Karadas, chairman of the press office of the Turkish Ski Federation, Alpine skiing is a branch at which Turkey lags in catching world standards, highlighting the importance of having experiences on Beijing's icy downhills for the Turkish athletes. ■
