On January 31, the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon Province, South Korea entered the penultimate competition day. After a short period of silence, Chinese ice and snow athletes have re-emerged. In the women's freestyle skiing U-shaped field finals, two teenagers from the Chinese team, Liu Yishan and Chen Zihan, won the championship and runner-up. It is worth mentioning that Liu Yishan’s gold medal is not only the first snow gold medal for the Chinese delegation at this Winter Youth Olympic Games, but also the third time that Chinese athletes have won all the snow medals in Gangwon Province. It is also the second win by Gu Ailing at the Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games four years ago. After winning the championship, Chinese athletes once again won the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe gold medal at the Winter Youth Olympics.
There is no suspense about the two players of the Chinese team taking over
There were three rounds of women's freestyle skiing U-shaped finals at the Winter Youth Olympics. Liu Yishan completed them all and scored the highest in each round. She scored 89.75 points in the first round and 92.25 points in the second round to secure the championship in advance. Her score was also the only one among all the players to exceed 90 points. In the third round, she scored 86.50 points, and finally won the championship without any suspense. It should be said that the only person who can pose a threat to Liu Yishan in the game is teammate Chen Zihan. In the first round, Chen Zihan scored 83.75 points. She and Liu Yishan were the only two players to score more than 80 points. However, due to mistakes in the next two rounds, Chen Zihan scored 77 points and 24.50 points respectively, and won the runner-up with her first round score. .
This is the second time that Chinese athletes have won the championship and runner-up since the start of this Winter Youth Olympic Games. In previous competitions, Yang Jingru and Li Jinxu in the short track speed skating competition took turns to become the champion, runner-up in the women's 1500 meters and 1000 meters, and the second in the women's 1500 meters and 1000 meters. The mixed team relay won the championship, showing that China has strong reserves in short track speed skating, which is the strength of China in ice and snow. The fact that Liu Yishan and Chen Zihan won both the championship and runner-up positions makes people see the infinite possibilities of China’s ice and snow future, especially in the freestyle skiing event where players like Gu Ailing may emerge.
China’s ice and snow force has unlimited potential
At the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games, Gu Ailing represented the Chinese team for the first time. She signed up for three events in freestyle skiing: women's slopestyle, women's big platform and women's U-shaped field. At that time, her main event was still women's slopestyle. Skills, women's big platform and U-shaped field are secondary events. She finally won two gold medals in the women's big platform and U-shaped field and a silver medal in the women's slope obstacle course, showing her skiing talent that others cannot match. It was after the Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games that Gu Ailing completed the swap of major and minor events, and then the big platform and U-shaped track championships became exclusive to her in international competitions. Even the International Snow Federation lamented that Gu Ailing was a championship monopoly. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing lived up to expectations and won two gold medals on the big platform and U-shaped track, becoming the only double gold medalist among Chinese Winter Olympic athletes.
In fact, at this Winter Youth Olympic Games, the potential of China’s new ice and snow forces is not only reflected in Yang Jingru, Li Jinxun, Liu Yishan, Chen Zihan, and Zhang Xinzhe, but also speed skaters Liu Yunqi, Pan Baoshuo, and freestyle skiing giants. Xiao Siyu in platform diving, Ge Chunyu in single board platform, etc. Although Xiao Siyu finally finished fourth in the women's big platform event, she was actually capable of getting on the podium due to the difficulty of her moves and her strength. However, she was a little anxious due to lack of experience during the competition and failed to stabilize her body when she landed, ultimately losing her A chance to stand on the podium. She herself admitted, "I really want to work hard to get into the top three. I was very confident before the third slide and really wanted to do this difficult move." In addition, Ge Chunyu and others from the snowboarding platform also demonstrated Chinese snowboarding After all, Su Yiming has set an example for the rise of skiing.
The Winter Youth Olympic Games is a stage full of passion and challenges. Every game is a challenge. The young Chinese athletes' participation experience and experience, as well as their efforts and dedication are becoming the source of strength for the future of China's ice and snow sports.
Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Bai Zhibiao