Lindsey Jacobellis, the "patriarch of the Five Dynasties" of the Winter Olympics, won the first gold medal of the American athlete in the women's steeplechase event at the Beijing Winter Olympics on the 9th. Feng He, 17, became the first Chinese athlete to make his debut in the winter olympic snowboard slalom chase event, and then stopped in the quarter-finals.
U.S. Lindsay Jacobellis (center) at the women's steeplechase at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The Winter Olympics Veneers Steeplechase Qualifiers featured 32 players in two rounds, with the top 16 players in the first round and the rest having to compete in another round to determine the ranking. The 32 players are then grouped in four groups according to the qualifying rankings, with the top two in each group advancing to the next round, the bottom two of the two semi-finals advancing to the minor finals for 5th to 8th place, and the top two of the two groups entering the grand finals for 1st to 4th place.
In the first round, Italy's and Pyeongchang winter Olympic champion Mikaela Mojoli led the 16 first qualifiers in 1:22.19. Feng He performed well in the first half, but the mistakes in the second half wasted her time, and the time of 1 minute 34.31 was the lowest among the 30 people who finished the race. With the 14ers playing another round, Feng He improved his time to 1:31.25.
In the quarter-finals, Feng He appeared in the fifth group and failed to go any further in the competition of four players.
China's Feng He competes in the women's steeplechase qualification event for snowboarding at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 9.
"It was my first time at the Winter Olympics and I was very excited. There was no waste of the previous efforts, and I have suffered some large and small injuries in the past three years, and I have persevered and am very proud of myself. Feng He, the youngest in the whole field, said, "I think I have gained a lot, I can train and participate in competitions with such a powerful person in the world, and I have gained experience and courage, and I have gained a lot!" ”
In the semi-finals, Mojoli folded in the first group and could only compete for 5 to 8 places. France's Julia Mabilo fell in the second group, and opponents in the same group came forward to comfort her crying after the match.
The minor finals then began, with the calming Mabilo taking first place in the group. Mojoli fell in the group and failed to finish the race, but she got up and waved to the crowd.
Italy's Mikaela Mojoli (right) competes in the women's steeplechase for snowboarding at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Feb. 9.
The grand finals went exceptionally smoothly, with American star Lindsay Jacobelis leading the way and crossing the finish line first to win the gold medal on her fifth trip to the Winter Olympics. She is the only athlete in the veneers steeplechase event since Turin entered the Winter Olympics in 2006. In Turin she won the silver medal and in Pyeongchang she was fourth.
"It's incredible because the women's athletes are a lot higher in the sport now than they were 16 years ago." Jacob Baylis said, "So I feel like I've been successful if I get to the final. ”
In addition, 36 years and 174 days of Jacobilis also surpassed Austria's Benjamin Carr, who had just won the gold medal in the men's parallel giant slalom of snowboarding the previous day, to become the oldest winter Olympic snowboard gold medalist, whose age was 36 years and 115 days.
France's Chloe Tresperche and Canada's Meljeta Odin won silver and bronze in the event.