After the biathlon competition, Wang Hongwei, a manager of the Baiyin national snow sports training base in northwest China's Gansu Province, gathered her staff to clean the snow piste and help athletes and coaches collect ski equipment.

The 2022-2023 National Biathlon Invitations ended on Saturday at the base where the National Biathlon Championships had been held earlier February as China's first biathlon event after the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Wang, 33, had been a national technical official (NTO) for Alpine skiing at Beijing 2022. Beijing 2022 participants, like Wang, have gained much more confidence in the future development of winter sports in China.

Zhang Xuemei, executive of the shooting range of the national championships and invitations, served Beijing 2022 as the only female executive of shooting range on biathlon. She said that the shooting equipment in China have been upgraded since Beijing 2022.

"Electronic targets have been gradually put into use to replace the paper ones in national events after Beijing 2022," said Zhang, adding that the new equipment and thoughts have boosted her confidence in China's biathlon development.

Shi Ming, a referee at Beijing 2022, believes that China's biathlon gets a bright future because more and more young athletes are taking up the event.

"The youngest athlete of the national championships was only 16 years old, and the young men will get more chances to improve his skills," said Shi, adding that many athletes have practiced biathlon for about two years.

It is believed by coaches that the athletes who attended the national championships and invitations are the main force for the national winter games and the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

32-year-old Tang Jialin, who competed in his third Winter Olympics at Beijing 2022, said that she would continue her career as a biathlete.

"I love biathlon so much, and I enjoy the process," Tang said. 

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