Yang snatches second gold from cross country sprint sitting, 10th for China at Beijing Paralympics

Yang Hongqiong (R) of China competes during the Para Cross-Country Skiing Women's Sprint Sitting Final of Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, March 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

CHONGLI, Zhangjiakou, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Para cross country skier Yang Hongqiong grabbed her second gold here on Wednesday from the sprint sitting event, earning the host nation the 10th gold medal at Beijing 2022.

Yang finished the 1.3-kilometer race in three minutes 18.2 seconds, followed by American veteran Oksana Masters, who was 1.7 seconds behind and also ranked second after Yang in the long distance sitting here three days ago. Another Chinese Li Panpan was third, trailing the winner by 12.8 seconds.

"With already a gold medal in hand, I have reached my goal here, so I was enjoying the match today," said Yang, a 32-year-old Paralympics debutant.

"For the sprint, winning or losing depends on just a few seconds. During the race, I didn't care whether my opponents were catching up.

"No matter what sound I heard, far or near, I was keeping my own pace. Anyway, I was the only one on the field. I skied my own way," she said.

For the sprint event, the skiers need to finish the qualification, the semifinals, and the final within four hours.

To Yang, the sprint event is much more energy-consuming than the long distance competition. "Although it's only three laps covering 1.3 kilometers, I felt I was really fatigued to finish this race and it's much more demanding than the long distance race," added she.

"You can feel the heartbeat like you are riding the roller coaster when you're in the race. Now I need to relax and take a good rest."

Yang was the first female athlete to win two gold medals after Zheng Peng had just become the first Chinese athlete to bag two Paralympic gold medals with his victories in men's sprint and long distance sitting events.

Masters, 32, who had swept eight gold medals in the sprint, middle, and long-distance sitting events at world championships since 2017, added the silver to her Beijing Paralympic collection after being crowned in the Para biathlon sprint sitting here on Saturday.

Li, who was also third in long distance sitting, is satisfied with the bronze.

"Sprint was never my strong suit. I actually anticipated no medal today, so I'm really happy with this result. I kind of lack explosive power. So I made my own record in the sprint," said Li.

China had collected just one medal from six editions of Paralympics since its debut at Salt Lake City 2002 - a gold out of wheelchair curling at PyeongChang 2018, but the 96-strong home contingent is now a distant leader in the medals tally with 10 golds and 31 in total.

Yang Hongqiong of China reacts after the Para Cross-Country Skiing Women's Sprint Sitting Final of Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, March 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Hou Zhaokang)

Li Panpan of China reacts after the Para Cross-Country Skiing Women's Sprint Sitting Final of Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, March 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Hou Zhaokang)