Breathing a long sigh of relief and a trademark sweet smile, although there are still 20 players behind him who have not yet finished the game, Gu Ailing has confidently said "see you in the final" and turned to the audience in the stands to "compare hearts".
In the freestyle ski women's big jump qualifier held on the 6th, the "Frog Princess" made a mistake in the second jump "900 degrees of right deflection rotation", and completed the same action steadily in the last jump, scoring a valuable 72.25 points. With this score, coupled with the 89 points from the first jump to complete the "left two-week deflection rotation 1080 degrees", she successfully locked a ticket to the final with a total score of 161.25 points, ranking fifth among the 25 players in the qualifiers.
'Of course there was pressure in the first game, I knew everyone was watching me and it was a pressure for me. After a second jump of just 24.5 points, Gu Ailing called her mother who was watching in the stands during the break. The encouragement and advice from her mother helped her to quickly adjust her mentality and state. When she set off for the third jump, she took slightly longer to prepare than the first two jumps. For the much-anticipated star player, this is a jump that cannot be lost, and if he fails again, he will lose the opportunity to compete for the championship in advance. "I would have been upset with myself if I hadn't made it to the final, but I wouldn't have thought about that at the time. Just telling myself to focus, it was very simple for me, and I was able to do it by the time I was 14. ”
Resisting the pressure, accelerating the taxi, jumping high, Gu Ailing completed the entire action cleanly. The grandstand, once filled with nervousness, resounded with warm cheers and applause. "Originally prepared three actions, I did not expect that the wind speed changed during the second jump, causing me to slow down a little, and the snowboard fell when I landed, so the choice of the third jump was still based on safety." Although he did not play 100% perfectly, Gu Ailing still commented on his Olympic debut as "quite satisfied", "My goal is not to win the preliminaries, but to enter the final first, this goal has been achieved." ”
As a new generation leader of Ice and Snow Sports in China, 19-year-old Gu Ailing played three events at the Winter Olympics, and all achievements were highly expected. Compared with the more experienced U-shaped field and slope obstacle skills, the big jump can actually be regarded as Gu Ailing's "side event", but it does not affect her rapid growth and determination to compete for the championship in this project. After qualifying for the promotion in a "safe" way, the "Frog Princess" bluntly said that she had passed the challenging "stress test" and only stayed on the final stage to show herself.
"I've been training well these days, adapting to the environment and being in good shape overall." Gu Ailing, who has not yet come up with a "killer skill", promised to challenge more difficult moves in the final. Just three months ago, she became the first female player to unlock a "double cork 1440" for a front flip. "Every opponent is very strong, tomorrow's final will be a 'big show' worth looking forward to, I hope I can bring you the most wonderful performance."
Before leaving the venue, Gu Ailing deliberately waited on the sidelines, waiting for the tenth teammate Yang Shuorui to finish the game and send her a warm hug. Due to an accidental injury during pre-match training, Yang Shuorui, who still had obvious redness and swelling in his left eye, was affected, and finally ranked 20th to stop qualifying.
Author: Gu Miao
Editor: Chen Haixiang