The Paper's reporter Song Chengliang
Freestyle skiing aerial skills are the traditional strengths of Ice and Snow Sports in China – so far, a total of 1 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze have been won at the Winter Olympic Games, and the only gold medal is from the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, which was won by Han Xiaopeng.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, there are three small events in the freestyle skiing aerial skills project, which are men's, women's and mixed teams.
Among them, the freestyle skiing aerial skills mixed team event held on the evening of the 10th is the first gold of the three gold medals - the project is a new sub-event for the Beijing Winter Olympics, each team sends 2 men and 1 woman to participate, the competition is divided into two rounds, and the highest score of each player is added to the total score of the team.
In the end, veterans Xu Mengtao, Qi Guangpu and Jia Zongyang won the silver medal, but still left a trace of regret.
Xu Mengtao in the game.
Outstanding overall strength
About half a year after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the IOC Executive Committee held a meeting and adopted a plan for the beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Finally, on the basis of not expanding the scale of participation, the Beijing Winter Olympics added 7 small events such as speed skating mixed relay and freestyle skiing aerial skill mixed team, and the number of gold medals will be increased to 109 in history.
In the short track speed skating 2000 meters mixed relay competition, the Chinese team won the championship, and the freestyle skiing aerial skill mixed team was even more determined for the Chinese team.
According to the data, in the two freestyle skiing aerial skills World Cups held in Chongli in December 2017, the Chinese team won two mixed team gold medals. At that time, the Chinese team sent a team of first and second teams to participate, one team was partnered by Jia Zongyang, Qi Guangpu and Xu Mengtao, and the second team was composed of Yan Ting, Wang Xindi and Wu Shudi.
Xu Mengtao celebrates the victory.
Although there are high expectations for this project, the national team is still relatively low-key. Coach Ji Dong previously said in an interview, "The team competition is also proposed by China, of course, after the increase, all countries attach great importance to it." And considering the objective factors of this project, the contingency is too large, so no one dares to say that it is very certain. ”
Before the Winter Olympics, in december 2021, in the two consecutive World Cup mixed team matches held in Lucca, Finland, the Chinese team using different squads won the championship: in the first game, Xu Mengtao, Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu played, and the three veterans played steadily, successfully winning the championship with a total score of 343.24 points.
In the second game, the Chinese team changed the lineup, Xu Mengtao, Qi Guangpu and young player Sun Jiaxu together, with a total score of 354.87 points, once again reached the top, showing a strong overall strength.
Veterans perseverance
The mixed team tests the overall strength of the team, often 2 men and 1 woman, and the biggest threat to the Chinese team is the Russian Olympic team with Maxim and Pavel and the Swiss team with an average age of 22 years old, the gold medalist of the 2019 World Championships mixed team.
On February 9, the pre-match training, the Russian media also came to the scene to report, and conducted a follow-up interview with Maxim, the leader of the team. Maxim also showed a good state in training - starting, jumping, flipping in the air, and successfully landing.
However, in the final, Maxim was unexpectedly absent...
Among the athletes in the mixed team competition, the most concerned is naturally Xu Mengtao, a 32-year-old veteran who participated in the Winter Olympics for the fourth time.
After the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Xu Mengtao underwent nail removal for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in her left knee and meniscus repair surgery on both knees, which was her fourth major surgery in 10 years.
After a season of absence from the international arena, Xu Mengtao showed a good state in the 2021-2022 FIS Freestyle Skiing Aerial Skills World Cup, reaching the podium in 4 of the 6 individual races, winning two championships, and 27 World Cup individual gold medals also made her the history of this project.
Xu Mengtao only lacks a Winter Olympic gold medal, and she is eager to realize her dream at the doorstep: "I want to work hard from accumulation, ability, and competitive performance to show the best Xu Mengtao." ”
"This is my fourth Winter Olympics, and I hope to show the best and put my most perfect moves in the Beijing Winter Olympics!"
Like Xu Mengtao, Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu of the men's team are also the elders of the Four Dynasties. At the doorstep of the game, Jia Zongyang said - "The biggest goal is to help the whole team win the team gold medal, look forward to blooming, and finally realize the dream at the Beijing Winter Olympics!" ”
And Qi Guangpu, who celebrated his 31st birthday 100 days ago, may have made a wish - the winter Olympic champion!
Unfortunately, Jia Zongyang made a mistake in the final round, and the Chinese team regretted winning the silver medal.
Senior Editor of this issue Xing Tan