In the case of 8 points races behind, starting from 0 points, after the hard work of 6 World Cup races this season, the Chinese freestyle skiing aerial skills national training team won 7 tickets for the Beijing Winter Olympics, of which the men got a full 4 tickets.
Lugu Station in the United States is the last World Cup event of freestyle skiing aerial skills before the Beijing Winter Olympics. Prior to this, the Chinese freestyle skiing aerial skills national training team had 3 men and 3 women shortlisted for the real-time Winter Olympics qualification, and the last leg of the competition, the team hoped to launch a shock to the full qualification. In the early morning of January 13, Beijing time, the Lugu World Cup in the United States ended, the five-star red flag fluttered in the wind, China's Wang Xindi, Yang Longxiao, Sun Jiaxu won the men's championship and runner-up, and the Chinese freestyle skiing aerial skills national training team also won the full quota of 4 men's Winter Olympic qualifications at the last moment. In the women's group, Kong Fanyu won the runner-up of this station, and although Xu Mengtao and Shao Qi failed to enter the final 6-man final, the 3 of them also helped the team to obtain 3 Winter Olympic qualifications.
Aerial skills is a traditional winter advantage event in our country, and before the start of this season, the national training team is facing greater point pressure. Affected by the epidemic, the team did not participate in the competition last season. This season they started with 0 points to the Winter Olympic tickets when other teams had already participated in 8 Olympic points races. Coupled with the fact that aerial skills are a largely accidental event, each of these six World Cups this season is very critical.
Xu Mengtao (Image from Xu Mengtao's personal social media)
Despite the difficulties and pressures, the freestyle skiing aerial skills national training team showed strong combat effectiveness. In a total of 6 World Cup matches, Xu Mengtao, Kong Fanyu and Shao Qi in the women's group have all reached the podium. Veteran Xu Mengtao played the most stable, climbing the podium in 4 of the 6 races and winning the 2nd and 5th races. Kong Fanyu won the championship in the first race and then reached the podium three more times. In the men's side, Russia's Maxim showed great ability, participating in all four races and winning the championship. China's Jia Zongyang finished second in the 2nd and 3rd races, and Qi Guangpu finished third in the 3rd race. In the remaining two races in which Maxim and other Russian players missed, China's young players played well, with Sun Jiaxu winning the 5th race and Wang Xindi winning the 6th race. In the two mixed team competitions, the Chinese team, both veterans and rookies, withstood the pressure and played steadily, helping the team win the heaviest team gold medal twice, and also laid confidence in participating in the new project of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Judging from the World Cup standings so far this season, Chinese athletes have played well overall this season, and in the women's side, Xu Mengtao ranked first with 385 points, Followed by Kong Fanyu with 361 points, and Shao Qi ranked 6th. In the men's side, Maxim won the first place without suspense, but from the 2nd to the 5th place, all the Chinese players. At the same time, more young players have emerged this season, Sun Jiaxu, born in 1999, Shao Qi born in 2001, and Yang Longxiao, born in 2002, all of whom have performed well, and they all grew up in the Beijing Winter Olympic cycle.
Sun Jiaxu
After the deer valley race in the United States, the official website of the International Snow Federation updated the ranking of the project's Winter Olympic standings. Xu Mengtao ranked 9th, Kong Fanyu 10th, Shao Qi ranked 18th, and China qualified for three Women's Winter Olympics events. In the men's side, Sun Jiaxu ranked 13th, Jia Zongyang ranked 15th, Yang Longxiao ranked 17th, Qi Guangpu ranked 20th, wang Xindi was 22nd, of which Wang Xindi and Yang Longxiao both performed well in the Lugu Station, and the Olympic ranking was greatly improved, and Wang Xindi greatly improved his previous Olympic ranking outside the 30th place to 22nd. So far, China has also won 4 full Winter Olympic qualifications in the men's event.