Wu Zhitao from Wenzhou is scheduled to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics' men's quadruple bobsleigh on Feb 19. [Photo/66wz.com]
Wu Zhitao, a 24-year-old bobsleigh athlete of Wenzhou heritage, will debut at the Beijing Winter Olympics' men's quadruple bobsleigh competitions on Feb 19.
He is the first Wenzhou-born athlete to perform at the international sporting event.
Wu and his teammates have earned many world titles in past competitions, such as the U23 title at the 2019 World Junior Bobsleigh Championships and the gold medal of men's duet bobsleigh at the National Winter Games in 2020.
Before the announcement of the Chinese team for the Beijing Winter Olympics last month, Wu participated in the Winterberg race of the World Bobsleigh World Cup in Germany, where he and his teammates finished 13th in the quadruple bobsleigh and 18th in the duel bobsleigh.
Before transitioning to bobsleigh, Wu was a promising track and field athlete who won several national and Asian titles. He was scouted by coaches from the national bobsleigh team for his high speed and strong acceleration when competing at the National Grand Prix in April 2018. Wu joined the national men's bobsleigh team a month later and went from 80 to 100 kilograms in weight to improve his acceleration.
Bobsleighing originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. People riding on the bobsleigh need to steer the sled on an ice track. It has long been considered one of the most exciting winter sports, as sleigh speeds have increased from 50 kilometers per hour in the early 1920s to 143 km/h in 1988. It is sometimes referred to as "F1 on snow".
