As the 12th National Winter Games nears its end, the halfpipe skiing event has entered its most exciting phase—the freestyle runs. At the final freestyle competition of the halfpipe skiing event held at the Beidahu Ski Resort in Jilin, 20-year-old female athlete Li Shuang successfully won her third gold medal, while 20-year-old male athlete Zhang Yiwei also claimed his second. The young athletes’ performances were impressive, but the series of mistakes during the competition were also regrettable.
A new generation of talent is emerging
From Pan Lei at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics to Liu Jiayu at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, China’s halfpipe skiing team has consistently produced new talent, especially among female athletes. At the start of this Winter Games, many expressed disappointment that Liu Jiayu was not competing, but 20-year-old Li Shuang has emerged as another rising star by winning three gold medals.
Li Shuang won bronze at the 24th Winter Universiade in 2011. In both the compulsory and freestyle events at this Winter Games, she outperformed national teammates such as Cai Xuetong and Sun Zhifeng with outstanding execution, demonstrating clear strengths in technical precision and consistency.
Cai Xuetong, an 18-year-old who was highly anticipated before the Games, may not have won an individual title, but her abilities remain strong—she ranked first in the overall World Cup points last season. She scored the highest mark of the competition, 38.9, on her first run in the compulsory event, and also earned the top score of 25.1 on her first jump in the team event, earning recognition for the difficulty and air posture of her tricks.
Wang Yongtao, head coach of China’s national halfpipe skiing team, said: “Overall, the young athletes performed quite well in this competition, delivering their normal level. Despite some mistakes, the current skill level of China’s female athletes is already among the top few in the world.”
Compared to the female athletes, the men still lack international competitiveness, but 20-year-old Zhang Yiwei has shown impressive strength by winning both the team event and the freestyle competition. Previously, at the fourth stop of last season’s World Cup, he took home the bronze medal in the men’s division and successfully landed a difficult 1080-degree spin for the first time in competition. “Zhang Yiwei is very talented, especially strong in flip tricks,” Wang Yongtao commented.
Difficulty still needs improvement
In halfpipe competitions, it’s common to see athletes take falls and get injured. In the freestyle finals, Li Shuang only scored 3.7 on her second run, and Cai Xuetong made varying degrees of mistakes on both attempts. The frequent errors affected the excitement and watchability of the event. Wang Yongtao explained: “There are venue factors involved, but the main issue lies with the athletes’ techniques. Insufficient takeoff speed and height, and overly forced rotations not only hinder trick execution but also significantly increase the risk of falls.”
China began developing its halfpipe skiing program in 2003, and thanks to a solid foundation in sports like gymnastics and martial arts, progress has been rapid—but there is still room for improvement in athletes’ capabilities. High-difficulty moves such as “backside riding” and “switch riding” are far less fluid for these athletes compared to their international counterparts.
Wang Yongtao stated that young athletes like Cai Xuetong, Li Shuang, and Zhang Yiwei still lag behind athletes from the United States and Australia in terms of trick difficulty, air height, and diversity of maneuvers. Future training will need to gradually incorporate more advanced elements.
At the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Liu Jiayu competed despite illness and although she missed out on a medal, finishing fourth, she set the best result ever for a Chinese athlete in the event. For the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, these young athletes will be key contenders as China aims for medals—or even gold. To make history again, enhancing stability and increasing difficulty in their routines over the next two years will be essential aspects of the team’s training.
