Profile | Winter Olympics: Geng Wenqiang, the skeleton World Cup champion whose shock Beijing 2022 omission required a Chinese government explanation

Inner Mongolia native was convinced to quit promising long jump career, and won China’s first skeleton World Cup gold just seven years later

Despite putting China on the skeleton map, Geng failed to fulfil his ‘Beijing dream’ after internal selection process which left fans baffled

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China’s Geng Wenqiang in a training session event for the men’s skeleton event at the Olympic Sliding Centre at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games in 2018. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:15pm, 8 Feb 2022Updated: 1:19pm, 13 Feb 2022

He was China’s first-ever Olympic skeleton entrant four years ago, became the country’s only IBSF World Cup gold medallist last November, and is ranked 12th in the world – yet Geng Wenqiang was left out of the Beijing 2022 Games roster.

Instead, teammates Yan Wengang and Chen Wenhao took up China’s two men’s skeleton spots. Though the pair are among the mainland’s best, Yan and Chen finished eighth and 12th, respectively, in the same event Geng won his historic gold.

But what was the reason for the shock omission? Officials reportedly said it was the 26-year-old’s “suitability” for the Beijing course after holding internal Olympic trials last month.

Some Chinese netizens think otherwise, with questions raised over the “politics” of the Olympics selection process.

Geng Wenqiang of China during a skeleton training session at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Photo: AFP

To rub salt into the wounds, Geng was supposed to be one of the poster boys for China’s Winter Olympics push. Not only was he proof China could win medals even in the most niche of winter sports, but Geng was the product of the Winter Sports Management Centre’s initiative to unearth, transfer and develop existing athletes.

Here’s what you need to know about Inner Mongolia native Geng, who in the span of seven years was convinced to abandon his fledgling long jump career, finished 13th on his Olympic debut at the Pyeongchang Games, and won a world title, before having the rug pulled out from underneath him.