Li Zhixing stood atop the highest podium as skaters in second and third place showered him with champagne. He thoroughly enjoyed this moment of glory, because not only did this young skateboarder meet everyone's expectations, but he also fulfilled a promise to his flight attendant girlfriend. On August 3, the 2014 Red Bull Extreme Jump Skateboarding Competition wrapped up at Xianghu Lotus Villa in Hangzhou. Li Zhixing, the top-ranked skater from Liaoning in the preliminaries, continued his steady performance in the finals, pulling off move after move for love, eliminating four opponents to win the championship. He took home the "Golden Skateboard" and a 20,000 RMB prize, and said with a smile, "I’m going back to take a shower and rest. Tomorrow I’ll go back to Shanghai to see my girlfriend."
After the preliminaries the day before, 16 skaters advanced from a field of 23 to compete in the more intense finals. The competition used a single-elimination format, with skaters facing off in pairs based on their preliminary rankings, advancing in rounds until one remained. Starting from the quarterfinals, the matches grew increasingly fierce. With clear weather, the conditions were ideal for the skaters to shine. Moves such as dynamic lip slides, foot-flips, and aerial grabs appeared frequently, drawing continuous cheers from the audience.
The Trick Showdown was all about showcasing signature moves, with judges selecting the coolest rider based on the difficulty and execution of their tricks. Wang Guohua clinched the title with a killer move—a 540-degree air rotation of the board—and said, "This is one of my three or four big tricks. I’m pretty good at these trick showdowns. Actually, my girlfriend likes skateboarding too. I taught her a bit, but later stopped because I was afraid she’d get hurt." Holding his 5,000 RMB prize, Wang Guohua also plans to hand it all over to her—he said, "Yesterday’s prize went to my girlfriend, and today’s will go to her too."