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PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 7-- The Chinese delegation held its flag-raising ceremony at the Gangneung Olympic Village on Wednesday, two days before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics opens on Feb 9. The delegation, headed by Chef de Mission Gou Zhongwen, sent approximately 60 people from figure skating, short track speed skating and speed skating to attend the ceremony. "China sent a 181-member team, including 82 athletes, which is the biggest Chinese delegation since the Vancouver Games," said Gao Zhidan, deputy Chef de Mission. As a mostly summer sports powerhouse, China did not won a Winter Olympic gold until the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. Gao said Chinese athletes are coming to learn in PyeongChang, stopping short of disclosing China's medal expectations. "After Beijing's successful bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, more and more athletes from summer sports have joined us in winter sports and they have been training very hard in snow sports," he added. Short track speed skater Zhou Yang has been named China's flag-bearer in the PyeongChang Games opening ceremony. She won gold medals in the women's 1,500m speed skating event in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2017. "It's an honor to become the flag-bearer at the PyeongChang Games. It's my third Olympic Games, and it's a surprise," she said. "It also means responsibility. The experience as a flag-bearer will definitely boost my confidence in the competition." | 
