On February 17, Beijing time, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics freestyle ski women's steeplechase began, and in the quarter-finals, Ran Hongyun and Pu Rui of the Chinese team were unfortunately out. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that Chinese athletes have appeared in the winter Olympic freestyle skiing women's slew track, and although the two athletes have not been able to go any further, they have already made history for the Chinese ski team. In this Winter Olympics, the main attractions of the Chinese team in the snow sports are freestyle skiing aerial skills, snowboard jumping, women's U-shaped venues, etc., and the most interesting athletes are Gu Ailing, Su Yiming, Xu Mengtao, etc.
Compared with these popular events to win the championship, the freestyle ski tracking event is slightly unpopular, especially in the previous Winter Olympics, there has never been a Chinese female athlete. For many domestic snow and ice lovers, freestyle skiing tracking is a relatively unfamiliar sport. But after watching the obstacle course chase, many people will fall in love with the sport of "snow racing". Unlike other events, the track of the obstacle course has different geomorphological characteristics, including slalom, jumping platform, waves, etc., and multiple participants chase on a track composed of different landforms.
The track is 800 to 1300 meters long and the slope is in the range of 5 to 22 degrees. At this Winter Olympics, a total of 32 players were selected from the preliminary round of the women's freestyle skiing slalom chase. Each group of 4 runners, the top 2 advance to the next round, and the final ranking is based on the order in which the runners arrive at the finish line. With the advantage of the host, the Chinese freestyle ski women's obstacle course received valuable Olympic tickets. Ran Hongyun, known as the "Kung Fu Girl" by the outside world, and Pu Rui, a newcomer, won the honor of representing the team.
In terms of personal strength, in the freestyle ski women's obstacle course event monopolized by European and American athletes, it is difficult for the two young players of the Chinese team to reach the final four. Before the game, they also said in an interview that in the competition, they are more about learning from the top players, accumulating experience, and preparing for the Milan Winter Olympics in four years. In the qualifiers, Ran Hongyun and Pu Rui ranked 24th and 25th respectively, while Sweden's Neslund took first place with an absolute advantage.
In the subsequent quarter-finals, China's Ran Hongyun and Pu Rui's group failed to make it to the quarter-finals. Despite missing the quarterfinals, the two little girls of the Chinese team are still smiling, and they both said in interviews that this is the first time that China's freestyle ski women's steeplechase has participated in the Winter Olympics, and no matter what the result, it is of landmark significance. For the future development, they also believe that the freestyle ski women's obstacle course chase originated late in China, but after years of hard work, significant progress has been made, and participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics has been a new beginning.
(Luo Treasurer)