Chinese skaters launch ISU World Cup campaign with double bronze in Poland

Fresh off historic hauls at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, China's Ning Zhongyan and Han Mei delivered resilient performances to claim bronze medals in the men's and women's 1500m at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating opener in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland, on Friday.

Ning, who dominated the Asian Winter Games after capturing three golds, clocked a time of 1:46.06 in the men's 1500 meters – just 0.87 seconds behind American phenom Jordan Stolz.

His compatriot Han Mei came agonizingly close to silver, finishing 0.06 seconds adrift of Japan's Miho Takagi in the women's 1500 meters. Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands dominated the event in 1:56.91, while Chinese rising star Yang Binyu impressed with a sixth-place finish.

The results in the season opener validate China's breakthroughs at Harbin 2025, where Han's three golds and two silvers helped secure a record tally of 14 speed skating medals.

In a concerning result for China, Gao Tingyu delivered a disappointing performance in the men's 500 meters. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics gold medalist finished in 15th place in 35.11 seconds, 0.16 slower than his winning time from earlier this month in Harbin.