IOC impressed with readiness for 2022

The International Olympic Committee likes what it sees in China's preparations for the 2022 Winter Games.

Following joint project review meetings with local organizers, the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee report that, with less than three months until the first test event, preparatory work in Beijing and co-host city Zhangjiakou in Hebei province is solidly on track.

All major infrastructures are already in place and primary programs and tasks have either been completed or are scheduled to be finished ahead of schedule.

"We are very impressed with the progress achieved. I am not going say it surprises us, but we are very impressed with the amount and quality of work that has been done "said Juan Antonio Samaranch, an IOC vice-president, as the three-day review wrapped up at the Beijing 2022 organizing committee's headquarters.

"It gives us a lot of confidence in the ability of Beijing 2022 and your partners to deliver on a very ambitious vision."

Attended by 30 local organizers and about 20 executives from the IOC and IPC, the review started with a Monday visit to the mountain venue in northwest Beijing's Yanqing district that will host the first test event.

That was followed by 10 panel sessions over the next two days to discuss topics ranging from sports programs to venue readiness and the Olympic villages.

It was the ninth review initiated by the IOC to help Beijing organizers identify challenges and address issues to ensure a successful Games.

Beijing's preparatory work is now moving from the general planning state to the operational phase, with a Feb 15-16 alpine skiing race on the International

Ski Federation's World Cup schedule marking the critical shift. The race has attracted 111 skiers from 19 countries to compete in men's downhill and super-G, testing the Olympic course and services at the new National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing, one of three 2022 venue zones, 90 kilometers northwest of the capital.

Another Olympic facility in Yanqing, the National Sliding Center, has completed installation of its 1.9-km track for bobsled, luge and skeleton events and will be ready for test runs in early 2020. After touring the alpine center, Christophe Dubi, the IOC's executive director for the Olympic Games, expressed glowing admiration.