Beijing 2022: Chinese skiers sweep podium in show of strength at Deer Valley Aerials World Cup as Wang Xindi secures gold
- Wang leads the charge for a Chinese sweep of gold, silver and bronze in the men’s aerials, the first time this season China athletes have won all top three spots
- China’s Kong Fanyu took silver in the women’s competition and continues to showcase a steady and high form going into Beijing
China’s men’s aerial ski team swept the podium at Deer Valley resort in Utah on Thursday (HK time), showing yet again they will be the skiers to beat at next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
In the men’s aerials, 26-year-old freestyle skier Wang Xindi led a spectacular podium sweep for the Chinese team with a career second World Cup win. In the best-of six big finals Wang came in hot with a double Full-Full-Full for a score of 122.62 that earned him a well-deserved comeback on top of the World Cup podium.
“To say there are big [Beijing 2022] expectations for the Chinese aerials team would be putting it mildly, and the men’s squad showed they’re ready by sweeping the Deer Valley podium, with Wang Xindi’s Flag of China back double full, full, full leading the way,” wrote skiing news website FISfreestyle.
Wang showed no sign of the immense pressure that rests on his shoulders, registering the highest score in the air and taking gold with a clear 10-point lead.
Wang’s teammate Yang Longxiao repeated last week’s performance from Le Relais and once again impressed throughout the entire competition to finish in second place with 112.67 points, also for his double Full-Full-Full.