浙侨英频 | Young Games stars make nation proud

Su celebrates at an award ceremony after winning the gold. FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY

Su wins country's first snowboarding gold at Olympics

Making their country proud with sports heroics beyond their years, the emergence of China's young athletes on the world stage at the Beijing Winter Olympics has inspired the nation's youths to dream big and push boundaries.

Snowboarding prodigy Su Yiming and teenage skier Gu Ailing have performed gravity-defying aerial feats to set the tone for a new generation of fearless Chinese winter sports competitors. Added to the athletic prowess are colorful personalities and tales of personal sacrifice that have won over fans at home and abroad.

After winning China's first ever Olympic gold medal in snowboarding on Tuesday, Su, who turns 18 on Friday, encouraged other youngsters to pursue their goals.

"It feels like a wild dream come true and it proves that hard work will always pay off," Su said after winning the men's Big Air final at the Shougang Industrial Park in Beijing.

"Everything I did along the way, regardless of the sweat and pain as well as overcoming setbacks, was driven by my love of snowboarding," said Su, who started snowboarding at the age of 4 after his parents took him to a ski resort for the first time. "I hope that everyone watching me can find what they are interested in and do whatever they can to pursue their own dreams."

Su's own challenge is overcoming fear as he stands on top of a 60-meter-high slope before launching himself into the air to perform difficult and dangerous aerial maneuvers before landing safely on a steep ramp.

Conquering that fear seemed impossible, but at age 9 Su naively declared his dream was to become the "king of snowboarding", a claim chronicled in a documentary of his career, which went viral on the internet hours after his gold medal win on Tuesday.

"At such a young age, I feel the sky is the limit. I still have a lot of possibilities, and I hope it will inspire more teenagers to follow their own path," said Su, who landed two 1800 tricks in the final to secure the gold with a combined score of 182.5 points.

Each rider takes three runs in the Big Air final with their two best scores counting in the final rankings.

Earlier, 19-year-old Rong Ge also delivered a major breakthrough after finishing fifth in the women's Big Air final, the best ever result for a Chinese competitor in the event.

With a similar upbringing to Su, Rong also became interested in the sport due to her parents' influence. She takes pride in presenting a vibrant and stylish new face of Chinese athletes on the international stage.

"I didn't have any pressure coming into the final. I just wanted to have fun and enjoy my Olympic ride as best as I could," said Rong, who nailed her second and third runs for a total of 160 points.

"More importantly, I am happy that I let the world know that young Chinese athletes can be competitive in the sport at the highest level," she said.

Freeski star Gu stayed calm on the snow on Tuesday after a poor performance in her second run in the women's slopestyle final when she had a poor landing. The teenager performed much better in her third run to win silver at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, Beijing's co-host in Hebei province.

Gu, who earlier won gold in the Big Air event, has a chance to secure a third medal when she competes in the halfpipe on Thursday.

The Chinese team, bolstered by its young stars, had won six gold medals, four silver and two bronze by Tuesday, already the country's biggest medal haul at a Winter Olympics with five days to go before the Beijing Games close on Sunday.

【背景阅读】

苏翊鸣摘金 中国代表团创冬奥历史最佳战绩

苏翊鸣在夺得北京冬奥会单板滑雪男子大跳台金牌后，他成为中国首个单板滑雪冬奥冠军。同时，中国代表团以6金4银2铜的成绩刷新了单届冬奥会夺得的金牌数和奖牌数两项纪录，创造了参加冬奥会以来的历史最佳战绩。

苏翊鸣在这场决赛中发挥极为稳健，前两跳他都排在单轮前三，两跳后稳居第一。随着竞争对手一个个结束比赛，最后一个出场的苏翊鸣尚未登场，便已经确定获得金牌。

这是中国代表团本届冬奥会的第六金。凭借这枚金牌，中国代表团在单届冬奥会的夺金数刷新了2010年温哥华冬奥会创造的5金纪录，同时12枚奖牌也刷新了奖牌数纪录。此前的最高纪录是11枚，分别在2006年都灵冬奥会（2金4银5铜）和2010年温哥华冬奥会（5金2银4铜）取得。

实现突破也有谷爱凌的功劳。15日，谷爱凌夺得自由式滑雪女子坡面障碍技巧银牌，她和苏翊鸣在本届冬奥会上均已有1金1银入账。

就算没有站上领奖台，也有属于自己的骄傲。19岁的荣格首次登上单板滑雪女子大跳台决赛的舞台，就获得了第五名的历史最好成绩。

年轻人畅想未来，老将继续出击。拥有多名老将的中国自由式滑雪空中技巧队向第三枚奖牌发起冲击，31岁的齐广璞和30岁的贾宗洋在男子空中技巧资格赛首轮排名前两位晋级决赛。

2月15日共产生9枚金牌，挪威队豪取3金，以12金7银7铜的成绩高居榜首，瑞士队获得2金，中国、奥地利、加拿大、德国各取1金。中国代表团以6金4银2铜暂居奖牌榜第六位。

来源|新华社

原标题：《浙侨英频 | Young Games stars make nation proud》

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