Photo taken on March 4, 2020 shows a rendering of the National Sliding Center for 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China.  Photo: Xinhua

The 10th edition of the competition schedule for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games has been updated, it was announced on Sunday. One of the highlights of the Games is that the proportion of female athletes will be the highest for any Winter Games, coming ever closer to true "gender equality."

A total of 2,892 athletes are set to take part in sports event at the Games, among them 1,314 are women, accounting for 45.2 percent of the total number. The proportion is the highest in the history of the Winter Olympic Games.

These female athletes will compete in 46 events, also a new record for the Winter Olympic Games, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported. 

The Beijing Winter Olympic Games will kick off in 115 days. The Games are scheduled to include a record 109 events over 15 disciplines in seven sports. Compared to the previous Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games, it adds seven events, including women's mono-Bobsleigh and women's big air under freestyle skiing. 

Tong Lixin, director of the Sports Department of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, said that two groups were taken into consideration when adding the seven events - young people and female athletes.

"The new seven events are meant to attract more young people to participate in winter sports, and the other goal is to achieve gender equality. The Beijing Winter Olympic Games will involve the largest number of women in the competition history of the Winter Olympic Games," Tong said.

Many female athletes have performed excellently in winter sports events such as Chinese short track speed skater Yang Yang and Chinese freestyle skier Ailing Eileen Gu, who announced that she completed her naturalization as a Chinese citizen in 2019.

Gu, 18, was the first naturalized Chinese athlete to win a gold medal in the women's slopestyle event in August 2019 at the Australian New Zealand Cup. She earned her first World Cup victory at the FIS Freeski World Cup slopestyle in Italy when she was 15.

The athlete has won more than 50 gold medals, boosting her chances of competing in major events such as the Olympic Games. Many Chinese netizens have been looking forward to this young talented athlete's performance at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

The focus on female athletes in winter sports events have excited fans of these events. A skiing fan surnamed Dong, 27, told the Global Times on Tuesday that she is obsessed with the sport and even practices during her lunch time. 

"I think this will encourage more women to take part in winter sports," she said.