Gold medalist Man Dandan's 16 years on snow steadily took her to the top

Man Dandan celebrates on the podium with Yelena Kolomina of Kazakhstan and Hye-ri Ju of Korea. Photo Bymatt Roberts / Getty Images

"Step by step, I went on. Then I found that I could not stop," she said.

While her career went well, her biggest problem came from her allergy to pollen. "It was especially hard in summer, I had to train outdoors and my allergy made me feel terrible," she said.

But she kept training hard, as she knew that she still had a lot to do to catch up with the advanced level in the world.

China's cross-country skiing still lags behind in the world, she said, noting that the sport is a relatively new one in China and needs to take its time.

But she is also confident about the sport's future in China. "Winter sports such as cross-country skiing are getting a lot of attention now in China, especially after Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics," she said.

As for the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, Man said that she had not given them many thoughts, but would do her best if her team needs her.

"In competitive sports, the only way to achieve something is to train hard and to work one's way up," she said.