In the final of the 2024-2025 FIS Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe World Cup in Cardrona, New Zealand, Chinese player Gu Ailing won the championship. Another Chinese player, Zhang Kexin, finished second.
Gu Ailing played with a shoulder injury, but her performance was still strong, sliding 90+ points in all three rounds, and she was also the only athlete in the field to score 90 points, and finally won the first championship of the season with 96.00 points. This is Gu's 15th World Cup title, and she has broken the FIS record and is the all-time top athlete in the list of male and female athletes.
After the race, Gu Ailing posted: "The first World Cup of the season held in New Zealand today has special significance, winning the fifteenth World Cup gold medal and setting a new record in the history of the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup for men and women. ”
"I will continue to work hard, never forget my original intention, and break boundaries. Thank you friends for your support in braving the snow and jet lag, and your love and encouragement also inspire me! Let's do it together! ”
Source: Gu Ailing's personal social account
In June 2019, Gu Ailing officially announced that she would represent China in the 2022 Winter Olympics and changed her nationality to China. At the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, Gu Ailing won two gold medals in freestyle skiing big air and freestyle skiing halfpipe.
In the 2023 season, Gu Ailing still played with an injury after breaking her shoulder during training in the Austria snow resort. In the end, she won four tournaments that season, taking her career World Cup tally to 14.
After that, Gu Ailing did not undergo surgery, but chose to treat the shoulder injury conservatively. According to Gu Ailing's family, her shoulder injury has not healed, and in the new season's competition, Gu Ailing started training and competition mode with shoulder pads.
The championship of this station means a lot to Gu Ailing. So far in her career, Gu has won the Grand Slam of gold medals at the Freestyle Skiing World Cup, World Championships, X Games, Winter Youth Olympic Games and Winter Olympics, becoming the most gold medalist in the history of the field with 24 gold medals.
Source: CCTV News, Jiupai News, Nanchang Evening News