Winter Olympics: Su Yiming and Eileen Gu changing face of sport, as China celebrates most successful Games ever
- Su’s big air gold was the host nation’s sixth, the most it has ever won at a Winter Olympics
- Gu, meanwhile, won silver in her slopestyle event taking China’s overall tally to 12 medals, more than its previous best in Vancouver in 2010
If Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said before the Beijing Games that he expected it to “change the face of winter sports”, then Su Yiming and Eileen Gu have laid claim to that challenge.
The Chinese teenagers bagged their second medals of the Games on Tuesday, and each now possesses one gold and one silver. For the host nation at least they represent a Winter Olympics that is already the country’s most successful ever.
Su’s gold was China’s sixth so far; the largest previous haul was at the Vancouver Games in 2010, when its athletes won 11 in total five gold, two silver and four bronze.
This year’s tally already reads six golds, four silver and two bronze, and there are five days left of competition. Gu has one more shot in the half-pipe at the end of the week, while skiers Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu have qualified for the final of the men’s aerials on Wednesday.
With the women’s 1,000m relay and men’s 1,500m coming up in the short-track speedskating, the odds of China adding to the medal tally look increasingly good.
Gu won medals in all three events – big air, slopestyle and half-pipe – at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games as well as X Games and world championships in 2021.
“I’m proud of myself to deal with pressure,” said Gu, who missed out on beating Switzerland’s gold medallist Mathilde Gremaud by just 0.33 of a point. “I did everything that I could that was in my control, and some things you just can’t control and you just have to accept it.”
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Su’s stunning performance in the second run of the snowboard big air meant he was able to take a victory lap, while Gu again showed her ability to perform under pressure snatching silver at the death in the women’s freeski slopestyle.
A “really, really happy” and emotional Su struggled to contain his emotions afterwards, and thanked “my parents, my coach, my motherland and everyone else for supporting me”.
The 17-year-old, who will be 18 on Thursday, has already changed snowboarding, and Canadian Max Parrot, who denied Su gold in the slopestyle but could not do so in the big air and had to settle for bronze, said the Chinese teenager “was going to push the sport to another level”.
Gu has had a similar impact on freestyle skiing, and not just because of the endorsements and modelling that make her a true crossover star.
The first to land a double-cork 1440 in competition in December, her achievement prompted France’s Tess Ledeux to raise the bar with a 1620 a month later. Ledeux came seventh on Tuesday, falling twice as she tried to catch those around her.
Chinese fans have instantly taken to the pair, helped perhaps by pictures of them from four years ago when they were just starting out, and Weibo exploded in celebration after each success, with millions praising Su the “double medal king” and #EileenGuIsTheStrongest.
The host nation started the day harbouring hopes of success in three events, with Rong Ge also competing in the women’s big air, but after her impressive fifth place, and Gu’s silver, it was left to Su to go for gold.
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Having been denied a first Olympic title by some dubious judging in the snowboard slopestyle, Su made sure there was no room for controversy this time around.
On a day full of 1800s, Su landed them like no one else. Such was his lead by the end over Norway’s Mons Roisaland, who took silver, that Su sailed down his last run, flipped out a 360, and cruised to the bottom to soak in the applause of the small crowd and his fellow athletes.
“Because of me, he’s been pushing really hard,” Parrot said. “Now he’s going to make me push it very hard.”
Success for China’s medal winners has a tangible feel to it, for Zhu Yi it looked slightly different on Tuesday. The figure skater fell twice last week during the team event last week, and had left the ice in tears both times.
During the women’s single skate short programme she left with a smile after successfully performing a routine that earned her a modest score of 53.44.
