China hails Winter Games 'breakthrough' at Vancouver

Fireworks explode over BC Place Stadium at the end of the closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, February 28, 2010.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China hailed its best ever Winter Olympics on Monday, crediting technology, foreign coaches and even improved language skills for the haul of five gold, two silver and four bronze medals in Vancouver.

Only eight years after skater Yang Yang (A) won the country's first Winter gold at Salt Lake City, a sweep of the women's short track speed skating and a first figure skating title helped China to joint seventh place in the medals table.

"Gold Standard" read the banner headline on the front page of the English Language China Daily, while the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily led its sports page with "Vancouver historical breakthrough".

"We have made important breakthrough at these Games," Xiao Tian, deputy chef de mission of China's largest ever Winter Games delegation, told the Xinhua news agency.

"Actually the five-gold finish was within my expectation before we set off for the Games, but I couldn't say that at that time because I would not want to put any pressure on the athletes. Now I can speak out."

Xiao was quick to revert to pessimistic type, however, when discussing the future, emphasising the huge task the Winter Sports administration faced to close the gap on their Summer counterparts, who topped the table at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Despite the good results at these Games, we still have a long way to go in the development of China's winter sports," he said.

"It's impossible for us to reach the same level as we have done in Summer sports, but we will try to minimize the gap as much as we can."

Xiao said that progress would come not through a vast expansion of the Winter sports programme but by using the best coaches, wherever they came from, and technology.

(Editing by Jon Bramley; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)