On January 30, the Freestyle Skiing World Cup Canada stop concluded in Calgary. In the women's aerials event, Chinese athlete Xu Mengtao, having won the previous two World Cup stops, once again claimed the gold medal with a score of 98.52, achieving a three-peat at this season’s World Cup.
Under the new competition format, the Chinese women’s team for this stop still fielded Xu Mengtao, Cheng Shuang, and Kong Fanyu. A total of 13 female athletes competed, with the top 12 advancing to the finals after the first jump. Xu Mengtao and Kong Fanyu ranked first and second respectively, while Cheng Shuang, despite a minor error, still qualified for the next round in sixth place. In the finals, the three Chinese athletes continued their outstanding performances and all advanced to the final round. As in the previous two stops, Ukrainian star Olena Volkova once again found herself surrounded by Chinese competitors in the finals.
In the finals, both Xu Mengtao and Cheng Shuang performed a technical move with a difficulty coefficient of 3.525 — the highest among all competitors. Ultimately, Xu Mengtao, who jumped last, earned the highest score of the competition, 98.52, with her graceful aerial movements and stable landing, successfully claiming the gold medal. Cheng Shuang’s aerial performance was slightly weaker, and she finished with 92.35 points, once again taking silver and earning her third silver medal of the season. Volkova and Kong Fanyu both used a move with a difficulty coefficient of 3.150, but Volkova had the edge in aerial presentation, while Kong Fanyu ultimately finished fourth, missing out on the podium.
The weather at this stop posed significant challenges for the athletes. First, there were strong winds, with wind speeds reaching up to 5.5 meters per second during the morning qualifying rounds. At the same time, the venue temperature was relatively high, with air temperatures even hitting 8 degrees Celsius. After the competition, three-time champion Xu Mengtao took to Weibo to complain about the conditions, saying, “The wind just wouldn’t stop — it felt like every athlete was 'riding the wind and stepping on snow.' The weather was also especially hot.” Despite these tough conditions, Xu was even happier to have secured her third gold medal, adding, “I have to thank the coaches, team leaders, and medical staff for their hard work and support.”
