Snowboard heroes seek Olympic glory
China’s halfpipe heroes gearing up for Olympic glory in Pyeongchang
China’s snowboarders looked primed to land on an Olympic podium for the first time in Pyeongchang.
Last week’s China leg of the halfpipe World Cup in Chongli, Zhangjiakou provided more evidence that a golden breakthrough is on the cards at February’s Games in South Korea.
The team, which has collected multiple World Cup and world championship wins in recent years, will now head for a three-week camp in the Swiss Alps to fine-tune their routines before one final competitive test in the season’s last World Cup event at LAAX in Switzerland.
“Our boarders have been in very good form this season — physically and mentally,” said Li Yang, an official with the National Winter Sports Administrative Center who is in charge of snowboarding.
“Technically their routines are competitive in regard to their difficulty level, but they still have to improve stability in order to execute their best tricks consistently.”
Two-time Olympian Liu Jiayu led China’s charge in Chongli with victory in the women’s event.
Liu, the halfpipe winner at the 2009 world championships in South Korea, stomped a dazzling string of tricks including a cab 720, back-toback 540s and a final frontside 720 in her first run of the final to win her ninth World Cup title on the Olympic-standard ramp at Genting Ski Resort, a venue for the 2022 Games.
“To win the Olympic gold medal is the dream of every athlete. I’ve been ready to realize mine in Peyongchang,” said Liu, whose fourth-place finish at the 2010 Vancouver Games is China’s best Olympic result in the discipline.
Li, though, cautioned that Chinese boarders’ lack of consistency means they are vulnerable to variables such as weather and slope conditions.
“With the development of routine difficulty around the world, everyone who makes the final in Pyeongchang has a good chance to win gold,” explained Li.
“We are focusing more on delivering our best as consistently as possible to combat all the uncertainties.”
Li’s concerns were underlined by the error-ridden performances in Chongli of China’s other world-class female boarder, Cai Xuetong, and China men’s No 1, Zhang Yiwei.
Cai, the 2015 world champion, finished third in Chongli with a faulty landing in her final run, while Zhang, who finished sixth at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, failed to make it through the preliminary round as he struggled in strong winds.
“We are confident to break through this time in Pyeongchang once we stomp our tricks in the perfect fashion. Now we have to work on increasing the probability of executing our runs to the best,” said Cai.
Going public
While China’s halfpipe chances in Pyeongchang are looking up, it is hoped upgraded facilities and training programs at local resorts will result in more podium finishes at the Beijing 2022 Olympics and beyond.
The Genting resort, which will host freestyle ski and snowboard in 2022, will open its new halfpipe ramp, which debuted at the World Cup, to the public every afternoon after the professionals have finished training on it.
“Our program is to keep most of the venues open after the 2022 Olympics and make them available to the public,” said Benno Nager, chief operation officer of the resort.
“Our goal is to have the ability to not only host the Olympics but also to give guests more variety in terrain and training to get more people involved from beginners all the way up to the pros,” he said.
Genting will complete construction of all the 2022 venues, including the aerial jumps, ski-cross course and parallel tracks, in two years’ time and will build six more chairlifts to go with 50 new ski trails before hosting the 2021 World Championships.
Nager also unveiled a plan to work with the Canadian national team to train local staff at Genting’s ski school.
A youth promotion program conducted in conjunction with local schools has seen 500 students learn skiing and snowboarding every week at the resort this season, contributing to the country’s ambitious plan to involve 300 million people in winter sports by 2022.
“Hopefully, with high-level competition drawing exposure and upgraded facilities boosting the grassroots scene, the rising public participation in winter sports will translate into success at elite level,” said Sun Yuanfu, a deputy director of the Winter Sports Administrative Center.
Technically their routines are competitive in regard to their difficulty level, but they still have to improve stability in order to execute their best tricks consistently.” Li Yang, Team China’s snowboarding official