Swedish Ambassador to China Helena Sångeland. Photo: Li Hao/GT

With the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games just 10 days away, the excitement of the Swedes is on the rise.

"This is actually the biggest team that we have sent to Winter Olympic Games ever," Swedish Ambassador to China, Helena Sångeland said, expressing her keen expectations and confidence in the upcoming Winter Games in an exclusive interview with the Global Times.

The Swedish Olympic Committee has so far announced the names of 114 athletes who will take part in the Games.

According to information provided by the Swedish Embassy, new athletes have recently been added to the Swedish delegation competing in figure skating, downhill, free ski and mogul skiing. 

The large contingent of the Swedish delegation is scheduled to travel to Beijing on January 27. 

Sångeland told the Global Times that she has visited various venues in Beijing, its suburban Yanqing district and neighboring Zhangjiakou, in North China's Hebei Province, noting that the three zones are within a reasonable distance of each other making it easier to move between venues. "I think the facilities and infrastructure will be very good," the ambassador said. 

Sångeland pointed out that Swedish companies and expert teams have also been actively involved in the construction of the venues and the preparation of the event in cooperation with their Chinese colleagues.

For example, there is a Swedish team responsible for the slopes in Yanqing district, and Swedish snow cannons and water pumps are making the snow for Chongli and Yanqing, the ambassador noted.

"I think that the snow quality will be very good," she said, adding that based on Sweden's experience with ice and snow events, most championships and games use artificial snow to provide a consistent quality.

Due to natural conditions and geographic location, the development of snow and ice sports has a long history in Sweden which is also considered as one of the sports powerhouses in winter sports of the world. 

At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, Sweden won 14 medals, seven of them gold, placing it sixth in the medal standings.

Sångeland said that Swedish people have very high hopes for their athletes to beat their record from the PyeongChang Winter Games in the skating competitions of 5,000 and 10,000 meters, cross-country skiing and biathlon, among other sports. "Our athletes have been preparing for many years with special programs, talent programs, which are tailored to their specific needs to be able to reach excellence," she said.

At the same time, Sångeland also paid tribute to Emma Nordin, forward in the Swedish national hockey team and player of the KRS Vanke Rays in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province for her fourth Olympic tournament.

Sångeland noted that China and Sweden have long had close contacts in ice and snow sports cooperation. 

"A lot of young players from both countries have had a chance to train and play together. There is a Swedish hockey coach, Johan Björnfot, training children and teenagers in Wuhan. The Chinese curling national team has a Swedish coach, Peja Lindholm, considered one of the best European skips of all time," the ambassador said.

In October 2021, the Chinese team won over Sweden in the finals of the World Wheelchair Curling Championships. 

"Our team will now come back and seek 'revenge' to have a rematch," Sångeland joked, adding that she may be watching the Games from the Embassy.

Ice hockey players practise during a test event for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing on Thursday. The test event series will run until April 10. Photo: AFP

Sångeland expects that the Swedish delegation's excellent performance at the Games in Beijing will bring new inspiration to the Swedes. "If we win many medals, I think that will set a very good example for young athletes who will aspire to be just as good as the Swedish athletes have been in the Beijing Winter Games," she said