China Daily
With the world hailing the arrival of a new sports superstar, China’s freeski Olympic champion Gu Ailing wants to remain the girl next door to inspire more youngsters to push their own boundaries.
Carrying the host nation’s biggest medal hope on the snow, Gu, a versatile skier competing in three events at the Beijing Winter Olympics, delivered big time on Tuesday. The 18-year-old won the freestyle skiing big air event with dazzling maneuvers. Gu was pushed hard by silver medalist Tess Ledeux of France, who finished the first two runs on top. On her third and final run, Gu gambled on a trick she’d never done in competition before-a left double cork 1620 jump that involves four-and-a-half spins while rotating two times off-axis in the air. To a rousing reaction from the crowd, Gu landed the maneuver to take the gold with a winning total of 188.25 points, which included 93.75 from her first run after she landed a double cork 1440. Competitors do three runs and only the two best scores count toward the final total. Ledeux had a chance to win the gold, but failed to nail her final run. She had to settle for the silver, while Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland took the bronze. “I’ve thought about it a lot, but to put it down (left double cork 1620 jump) for the first time on my third run in the first Olympic freeski (big air) final in history means the world to me,” Gu said after her victory. “My mom called me asking me to play (it) safe before the third run as I’d secured a medal. But I didn’t listen to her and gave it a go, not trying to beat anyone but to elevate myself to the next level.” Ledeux, the 2019 world champion in the event, slumped to the snow in tears after missing out on the gold, but was gracious in her praise of Gu, despite her own disappointment. “She works very hard,” 20-year-old Ledeux said of Gu. “There is a very good … (atmosphere) in freestyle skiing in general. She is very focused on her job, and she is an amazing athlete.” Gu was born in the United States to a Chinese mother and US father. When she announced in June 2019 that she would represent China at the Beijing Winter Olympics, she was subjected to criticism and unfair comments on social media in the US that her decision was driven by commercial benefits from the host nation.
Gu said at a news conference on Tuesday she was not trying to make anyone happy when she was questioned on the criticism she had faced following her decision to represent China.
