Though the Winter Olympics were held in neighboring Russia, my Chinese students didn’t pay much attention to the quadrennial event.
Only a handful said they watched the Games, which is understandable since they don’t have TVs in their dorms and the four-hour time difference between Sochi and Zhengzhou made for inconvenient viewing. But it’s also true that none of the Winter Olympic sports are widely popular in China.
After China won three gold medals in speed skating, I asked a Chinese teacher for her reaction. She said she was very proud that the country was doing so well in “skiing.’’ That pretty well sums up the average Chinese person’s knowledge of the Winter Games.
China won nine overall medals, two fewer than it captured in Vancouver four years ago. Six of its Sochi medals came in short-track skating, more than any other nation.
Imagine what they’ll accomplish after they figure out the difference between speed skating and skiing.
