Wang Kaixiang
In the early morning of December 5, Beijing time, in the 2021/22 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Big Jump World Cup in the United States Steamboat Station, 18-year-old Chinese player Gu Ailing completed the Double Cork 1440 degree (two-week flip + turn) action, becoming the first woman in the world to complete this action, creating history and winning the championship of the freestyle skiing event.
In the snowboard big jump event, 17-year-old Chinese teenager Su Yiming (who played "Little Plug" in the drama "Wise Tiger Mountain") played well, and he won the championship with a total score of 155.265 points in the world cup final for the first time, becoming the first Chinese athlete to win the snowboard world cup big jump event.
Gu Ailing at the award ceremony Xinhua News Agency photo
This is not the first time that freestyle skiing has entered the public eye.
In the past two years, Gu Ailing has gradually emerged from the eyes of Chinese audiences, winning many championships such as freestyle skiing U-shaped track skills and slope obstacle course skills at the Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the X Games Extreme Games in the United States. In addition, at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Han Xiaopeng won the first gold medal of a Chinese male athlete at the Winter Olympics in this event. Li Nina, Xu Mengtao and other female athletes also competed for gold and silver in major events such as the World Championships and the Olympic Games, creating good results.
However, compared with traditional ice and snow sports such as short track speed skating and figure skating, the public still has less awareness of freestyle skiing.
In fact, China has always been the traditional strong team in the freestyle ski aerial skills program, and two months later at the Beijing Winter Olympics, it will also be one of the most anticipated gold-winning hot events.
Gu Ailing competed in the Big Jump in the United States. Visual China figure
Freestyle Skiing is a young sport that dates back to the early 20th century. At that time, Norway, Austria and other ski countries had a group of thrill-seeking enthusiasts who tried to step on bulky skis and make some jumping and spinning movements.
The real rise of freestyle skiing came in the United States in the 1960s. At that time, along with social movements, the trend of pursuing freedom was widely spread among young people, and the progress of science and technology and the emergence of new materials also made the maneuverability and flexibility of skis gradually increase, and playing a variety of "flower work" became a trend in the snow field.
In 1992, freestyle skiing officially became one of the sports at the Albertville Winter Olympics, but at that time there was only a snow skill event. Visual China figure
Historically, the first freestyle ski competition was held in 1966 in New Hampshire, USA. In 1979, freestyle skiing was officially recognized as a separate sport by the International Ski Federation (FIS). In the 1990s, it began to enter the Winter Olympics. In recent Winter Olympic Games, more and more small sports of freestyle skiing have become official competitions.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, freestyle skiing will be divided into six sub-events, including snow skills, aerial skills, slope obstacle course skills, obstacle chases, U-shaped track skills and big jumping platforms, and a total of 13 gold medals will be born. Except for Gu Ailing's gold-winning big jumping project held at the Shougang Ice and Snow Jump in downtown Beijing, the rest of the projects were held in Yunding Ski Park in Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City.
The Shougang Ski Jump is the first permanent jump in the world and the first venue in the history of the Winter Olympics to be combined with industrial heritage. The styling is inspired by dunhuang's "flying sky" image. The steel structure of the jumping platform also reserves the possibility of responding to changes in the demands of different events in the future. Visual China figure
It is worth mentioning that freestyle skiing refers specifically to skiing, which is distinguished from the independent sub-item of snowboarding, which also includes four sub-events such as slope obstacle courses, obstacle chase, U-shaped track skills and big jumping, but there are no snow skills and aerial skills.
U-shaped venue of Genting Ski Park Genting Ski Resort official website picture
The pitch of the Mogul is generally built on steep slopes, consisting of a steep slope line consisting of many snow mounds. This snowy hill terrain is also known as "cat jumping" skiing or "sliding mushrooms" in China, and originated from a kind of terrain that is naturally formed after being skied by many skiers after natural snowfall. The race's Snow Skill Track is artificially stacked and rested, with 2 jumping points in the track, and runners need to complete 2 jumps as they zip down the snowbag track.
Snow skill competition venues are generally built on steep slopes, consisting of steep slope lines composed of many snowy hills. Visual China figure
In aerial, runners jump through steep jump platforms and perform a variety of flip maneuvers during the pre-landing process. In 1928, Carlton of the United States became the first athlete in the world to complete a snowflip on a snowboard. Aerial skill scoring is mainly concentrated in the three parts of starting and jumping, aerial movements and landing, and the completion quality is multiplied by the action difficulty coefficient, which is the score of a test jump. Aerial skills are also an early start in China's ice and snow sports, with strong strength, and the history of China's first ski world champion Guo Dandan, as well as Han Xiaopeng, Li Nina and other well-known players.
In aerial skill competitions, players usually perform 2 to 3 weeks of flips. Visual China figure
Han Xiaopeng won the men's aerial skills in freestyle skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Visual China figure
Slopestyle is a stylish and fun sport that became an official sport at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. In the slope obstacle course, the players need to complete the fancy action on a series of fixed props, which is commonly known as "playing the park" by ski enthusiasts. Props include a variety of iron bars, such as long straight bars, curved bars, etc., as well as chests and ramp jumping platforms of different sizes.
In the women's steeplechase final of the 2021 Freestyle Ski World Championships, Gu Ailing won the championship. Visual China figure
The U-shaped field technique (Half Pipe), the so-called "U pool", is to descend from the inclined semi-cylindrical slope, with the help of the two sides of the pool wall to jump, turn, grab the board and other aerial movements. During a glide, the player will generally do 5 to 6 movements, and the referee will score according to the height of the action, the difficulty of the action, the fluency and aesthetics of the completion.
U-Shaped Venue Skills Competition Visual China Figure
Ski Cross is the only racing event in freestyle skiing and is also a highly ornamental and unpredictable event. The contestants set off in groups of four, passing through a series of complex and changeable terrain such as "washboards", continuous curves, wave lanes, and jumping platforms, competing for who reached the finish line first, and the top two in each group entered the next round, and the last two were eliminated. In order to seize the first position and the best taxi route, physical contact will inevitably occur between players, but if it is deliberately interfered with other athletes, it is a foul and will be disqualified.
Obstacle course chase competitions are highly competitive and enjoyable. Visual China figure
Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, November 27, 2021, 21/22 FIS Freestyle Steeplechase World Cup Fixtures. Visual China figure
Gu Ailing's freestyle ski jump (Big Air) that won the World Cup this time is a new small event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Compared with freestyle skiing aerial skills, the aerial movements of the big jumping platform pay more attention to creativity and freedom, and the players often perform difficult performances such as grasping the board in the air, sliding backwards and landing on the ground, and the horizontal flight distance will be farther.
The continuous picture of a large jump is superimposed, and the contestants often leap tens of meters of horizontal distance.
The aforementioned freestyle ski competitions are carried out in artificially repaired venues. It also has a twin brother, "Freeride", which usually refers to free skiing in a purely natural alpine wild snow environment, also known as "big mountain wild snow".
Leave the crowded machine snow tracks and enter the vast world where few people come, gallop down from the top of the mountain, enjoy the ultimate pleasure of surfing in the powder snow, and draw a wonderful arc in the white world. Wild snow in the mountains is the ultimate pursuit of many skiers.
The World Wild Snow Tour (FWT) track departs from the top of a steep mountain. FWT official website image
Oyama Wild Snow also has its own exclusive race - FWT (Freeride World Tour) World Wild Snow Tour, every Year from January to March in the global wild snow resorts to hold sub-station races, such as the Canadian Rockies, European Alps, Japan White Horse and other places, the track is a natural powder snow slope.
Runners need to bypass various obstacles such as trees and rocks, leap down tens of meters from the cliffs, and be creative in the alpine wild snow, freely choosing the sliding route, challenging the difficulty limits of terrain and aerial movements. The referee will judge the contestants by factors such as route selection, gliding posture skills, aerial movements, fluency and so on. To avoid possible avalanche risks, players must also carry a three-piece avalanche rescue kit (signal transceiver, probe, snow shovel), avalanche airbag backpack and other safety equipment. Only the top few wild snow players are eligible to compete, which is the "ceiling" of wild snow events.
Editor-in-Charge: Wang Yu
Proofreader: Ding Xiao