The Beijing leg of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating 2023/24 will be held from November 17 to 19 at the National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the Ice Ribbon.

The event marks the first major ISU competition to be held at the National Speed Skating Oval after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. This season, the ISU World Cup Speed Skating comprises a total of six legs, with Beijing hosting the second leg. The event has attracted numerous elite speed skaters from both home and abroad to register and participate, with over 200 world-class speed skaters having already completed their registrations.

Among the participating Chinese athletes, Gao Tingyu, the champion of the Beijing Winter Olympics, will be returning to this season's competition, along with other participants of the Beijing Winter Olympics such as Ning Zhongyan, Han Mei and Li Qishi.

The event will also garner the participation of many well-known foreign athletes. A number of famous skaters from the Netherlands, a country traditionally dominant in speed skating and winning six out of the 14 gold medals in speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics, are set to return to the Ice Ribbon this season. Laurent Dubreuil, the Canadian silver medalist of the 1,000m at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and Martina Sáblíková, the Czech bronze medalist of the women's 5,000m at the Beijing Winter Olympics, who has participated in five consecutive Winter Olympics, have all registered for the event.

(Source: CCTV News App)