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09 Feb 2022

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From “the Origin of Human Skiing” to the Olympic Cauldron

Xinhuanet

Ma Kai

February 5, 2022


The Olympic flame in Beijing Winter Games illuminated not only every snowflake that composes the cauldron but also the eyes of Dinigeer Yilamujiang.


As a Generation Zer and one of the last two torchbearers who placed the torch into the center of the “Giant Snowflake” —the Olympic Cauldron, Dinigeer Yilamujiang has realized her dream of the Winter Olympics.


On the evening of February 4, the last torchbearers, Dinigeer Yilamujiang (left) and Zhao Jiawen, placed the torch in the center of the “Giant Snowflake”. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ga


Dinigeer Yilamujiang is a 20-year-old Uyghur girl born in Altay, an area located in the north-western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. She will represent the Chinese cross-country skiing team in the Winter Olympics.


In 2005, a cave painting of Altai Mountain men stepping on snowboards and holding single ski poles was discovered in her hometown. According to archaeologists, the painting was drawn about 10,000 years ago, or even earlier. Since then, Altay is widely acknowledged as “the origin of human skiing”.


With high mountains capped by thick snow lasting for at least six months every year, skiing becomes a hallmark Altay lifestyle nurtured by the enabling local geography and climate. In the 1980s, many alpine skiers and cross-country skiers in China were exactly from this region.


Her father, Yilamujiang Muraji, was a cross-country skier and a former second runner-up in a national cross-country skiing competition in 1993. In 2010, a 20-member youth cross-country skiing team was formed in the Altay region. Yilamujiang Muraji served as the instructor.


On March 15, 2019, Yilamujiang Mulaji (right) and his daughter Dinigeer Yilamujiang. Xinhua News Agency


Dinigeer was one of the three girls in the team, beginning her cross-country skiing journey since then.


Their training ground lies in the mountains on the outskirts. Prior to each training session, she and her teammates needed to prepare the piste and groove by stepping on the snowboards and moving together as a line. In the wild where snow could be as deep as one meter, they often spent seven or eight hours pressing tight the snow before waiting for a good night until the frozen piste was training-worthy again.


In 2012, the 12th National Winter Games was held in Jilin. Dinigeer participated in the Games representing the Altay region. After the race, she told her father that she hoped to win the race like a professional athlete and stand on the podium. With the support of her father, she embarked on the road of professional skiing.


In 2015, the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics lit the enthusiasm of the Chinese people to play a part in winter sports all kicking off the growth of China's white economy. With top-notch local resources, Dinigeer’s hometown has built world-class ski resorts as “must-visits” for snow fans from both home and abroad.   


As her hometown is growing from strength to strength, so is Dinigeer. With talent and diligence, she was admitted to the China’s national cross-country ski team and performed well in the International Youth Skiing Championships and the Cross Country Skiing World Cup. In 2019, during her training sessions in Norway with the national cross-country skiing team, she expressed her wish to “do my best to win glory for the motherland at the Beijing Winter Olympics”.


On January 14, 2019, the Chinese national cross-country skiing training team prepared for the competition in Finland. Dinigeer (left), as a member of the national cross-country skiing training team, competed with Dinard in the internal test match. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Marty Mattikainen)


“There are tens of thousands of people in even an amateur event,” her father, who accompanied her to training in Norway, was impressed, “only by encouraging more people to participate in winter sports will more talents be recognized.”


As of October 2021, the number of people participating in winter sports in China reached 346 million, fulfilling the goal of “driving 300 million people to participate in winter sports”. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese sports delegation achieved a historical breakthrough: 177 athletes for 7 sports and 15 disciplines.


The father's expectation has been fulfilled, as the daughter's dream is about to come true. Last November, Dinigeer won the championship at an FIS event -- the International Ski Federation — at Hot Spring Xinjiang, earning her the membership in the Chinese sports delegation for the Beijing Winter Olympics. On Feb 5, she will compete in the Women's 7.5km + 7.5km Skiathlon event at the Games.


From “the origin of human skiing” to the cauldron of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, dream-chaser Dinigeer will not stop her pursuit, neither will China’s burgeoning winter sports.


Source: FDU 外院

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