On January 8, the women's sprint freestyle cross-country skiing event of the 12th National Winter Games commenced, where Harbin athlete Mandan delivered an outstanding performance, ultimately defeating her teammates Li Xin and Li Hongxue to claim the championship.
A total of 28 athletes competed in this event. Among them, the showdown between Harbin’s seasoned short-distance specialist Mandan and her teammate Li Hongxue—who had won the gold medal in the women’s 15km pursuit on the first day—became the highlight of the race. After progressing through the qualifiers, the eighth-finals, and the semifinals, both athletes advanced all the way and made it to the finals, where they were joined by Harbin’s Li Xin and PLA athlete Tang Jialin at the starting line.
In the final, Li Hongxue took an early lead, using her excellent freestyle technique to stay ahead in the first half. In the second half, Mandan suddenly accelerated with her explosive power to take the lead and demonstrated a strong desire to win in the sprint phase. Ultimately, she didn’t give the other three a chance to overtake and crossed the finish line first. Li Hongxue was surpassed by Li Xin due to excessive energy consumption, taking third place, while Li Xin secured the silver medal.