Speed Skating China Open event, the first international competition of the Beijing 2022 test series, went into its second day of competition on Saturday, testing all aspects of the competition.

Pandemic prevention was one of the focuses of this competition at the National Speed Skating Oval, known as the "Ice Ribbon." For example, athletes that medalled were asked to put them on themselves as one of the COVID-19 prevention measures.

Between October 8 and 10, athletes from China, the Netherlands and South Korea competed in 12 events: the men's and women's 500 meters, 1,000m, 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m, team pursuit and mass start.

An estimated 2,000 overseas athletes, team officials, technical officials, and timing and scoring personnel are expected for the test series from October 5 to December 31 in the three competition zones Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. According to the organizers, they will be under closed-loop management upon arriving in China with case-by-case policies for different venues.

At the Ice Ribbon, all competition-related people, including athletes, volunteers and media workers, are asked to wear medical N95 facial masks. The media also needs to provide negative nucleic acid results within 48 hours upon entering the stadium. Athletes will take virtual interviews inside the loop.

"We have divided the entire stadium into two parts, inside the closed-loop and outside the loop," said Wu Xiaonan, chairman of the National Speed Skating Oval.

(With input from Xinhua)

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Beijing 2022 test: Netherlands, South Korea split golds as Speed Skating China Open starts