Picking up the pace

Strong backing

The arrival of the Liu brothers has sparked fresh debate on drafting foreign-born talents with Chinese ancestry to bolster the country's medal ambitions.

Zhang Jing, the Liu brothers' former mentor in Hungary and the current Chinese national team head coach, has backed the recruitment policy, citing a positive influence on pushing the younger generation forward.

"Their stature as role models is already having an impact," Zhang said. "Their high standards in daily training, their discipline, their attention to detail … all have rung a bell for our youngsters, who look up to them and consequently try to treat their careers more professionally as well," said Zhang, who returned to China to take over her home country's program in August.

Zhang, known as Lina in Hungary, guided the Liu brothers to international stardom in the sport during her 10-year tenure as head coach of the Hungarian national team.

Off the track, Zhang has built a strong emotional bond with the brothers' family since she first met them in 2007 in her home city Changchun, Jilin province — a hotbed of winter sports where their dad took them to train.

The Liu brothers, who won Hungary's first Winter Olympic gold medal in men's 5,000m relay at the 2018 Games, said in their naturalization application that they had decided to move to China because they wanted to continue working with Zhang.

At a board meeting at the end of last year, the Hungarian skating association approved the brothers' request and waived its claim for compensation from them to cover its investment in their development.

Tianjin's municipal winter sports governing body confirmed on March 25 that the brothers had completed all the paperwork to officially register as residents in the city and would skate at the national championships.

"People might have different perspectives that suit themselves, but for the brothers they decided to come over genuinely for the opportunity to keep pushing for more athletic achievements at the highest level," said Zhang.

"Their goals remain topping podiums and they will win more medals for China in the future."

Although having missed out on systematic training for almost a year since Beijing 2022, the brothers still outraced most of China's current national team skaters in strategy and finesse, underlined by their effortless overtaking and consistent final appearances in multiple events at the championships.

As one of China's star next-gen skaters, men's 500m and 1,500m national winner Sun Long hailed the addition of the brothers as a positive move.

"Homegrown or not, we are all racing on the same track as hard as we can. I am really looking forward to teaming up with them (Liu brothers) and other senior teammates to win more glory for our country at the World Cup series and world championships next season," said the 22-year-old Sun after winning his second gold on Saturday.

Another naturalized skater, former South Korean Olympic champion Lin Xiaojun, is also at Zhang's disposal. Add reigning 1,000m Olympic gold medalist Ren Ziwei into the mix, and the coach looks poised to build a dominating men's squad for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

"We have everything we need to be successful at the next Olympics. And hopefully, with me and Shaoang we can be the first Chinese Olympic champions in the mixed team relay," Liu Shaolin said of the prospect of winning the first final on the short-track schedule at the 2026 Games.