Gu Ailing holds her two gold and one bronze medal after winning the women's ski slopestyle final during the 2021 Winter X Games in Aspen, the United States, Jan. 30, 2021. (Photo by Matt Power/Xinhua)
With what she described as a personality of dragon in skiing, Gu Ailing is ready for her Olympic debut on home snow and hopes to inspire more Chinese people to engage in winter sports.
by Qi Qi, Yao Lan
BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- "Every rise, every fall, every victory, we're in it together." When the digital ski track was slowly unfolded and the Olympic flame was ignited on Friday night at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Games in the Bird's Nest Stadium, it was the moment that freeskier Gu Ailing had been waiting for so long.
Ski prodigy, Gen Z, Vogue cover girl and mixed-raced are among the many tags of this teenage world champion. However, the 18-year-old, one of the most-watched athletes of Team China, is about to make history at her Olympic debut.
Gu is no stranger to the host city Beijing, the birthplace of her mother, where she spent almost every summer growing up. Peking duck and dumplings are the favorite foods of this California-born girl.
However, the 2022 Olympics has made her winter trip to the old place so different.
"I still can't believe that's happening. It's so surreal for me," she said in an interview when recalling watching the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. 14 years ago, no one could imagine that the five-year-old would become a gold medal favorite at future Games.
On Chinese social media, Gu shows her "secret" Olympic equipment excitedly: a helmet, a tailor-made suit and skis, all with dragon patterns on, which she believes will bring her good luck in the competitions.
"Dragons are powerful, magic and dramatic creatures. I think my personality in skiing resembles that of dragons," she said.
"It's my first Olympic Games and I'm a little scared too," Gu told Xinhua in her fluent, Beijing-accented Chinese. "But I will always remember to enjoy the Games."
Gu Ailing poses with her medals after the award ceremony of the women's freeski big air final of freestyle skiing event at the 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games in Leysin, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
ROAD TO THE OLYMPICS
Gu started freeskiing when she was just "a little pink ball of a toddler" even shorter than her skis, as she described.
"My mother took me skiing, but I myself chose freeskiing - it feels so free when I jump high in the sky, performing the moves. It's awesome," she said.
Gu set herself the goal of becoming an Olympic champion when she was only 13. However, the road to the Olympics has never been easy.
In 2020, the pandemic disrupted her regular on-spot ski training, and all she could do was start a four-month indoor training course while preparing for her college entrance exam.
Last year, Gu shone at the Freeski World Championships, clinching two gold medals and a bronze. She claimed her first Freeski Big Air World Cup title by stomping a right double cork 1440, which made her the first woman to land the trick in any freeski competition.
Gu Ailing in freeski big air training session at Big Air Shougang in Beijing, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)
In a training for the Olympics, she accidentally fell on a rail, fracturing her index finger and tearing a ligament in her thumb, though she laughed it off when watching the replay, saying, "I didn't realize it was a fracture!"
"Every time before I did a new trick on the snow, I am afraid. But I am more afraid of not even trying or setting limits for myself," Gu said. "Fear has kept me going and fighting."
Despite being injured, Gu quickly mastered the 1080-degree aerials and the newly-invented grab trick. In January 2022, she won gold in the women's halfpipe at the World Cup series in Canada's Calgary.
A fan wrote on social network Weibo, "I really like her confidence and courage. She is my role model."
But Gu's influence on China is more than that.
Gu Ailing of China during the women's freeski big air final of freestyle skiing event at the 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games in Leysin, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
DRIVING CHANGES
As the Winter Olympics approached, Gu quickly rose to social media stardom, with her name "Frog Princess Ailing" often topping the trending list on Weibo, where she has over one million followers. Videos of her training and Winter Games prospects are becoming an internet hit, with thousands of clicks and encouraging comments.
Many Chinese fans affectionately describe her as "Sailor Moon," the eponymous female warrior from the Japanese comic with a graceful combination of bravery and determination.
Playing many roles as a top ski athlete, star student and public figure, Gu's uniqueness is refreshing to many Chinese audiences. She epitomizes a sporting shake-up, being adventurous, earnest and open-minded, breaking the stereotype of a traditional athlete.
"She has a free and sprightly youthfulness that is rarely seen. It's so charming," one follower said.
Yang Yang, China's two-time Winter Olympic champion skater and a torch bearer at Friday's opening ceremony, said that Gu's beauty and personality fit with the quality of an idol for the younger generation. "She well represents the characteristics of skiing, and is daring and brave to do what she loves, which is also in tune with the times."
Gu Ailing of China in freeski big air training session at big air Shougang in Beijing, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
China is also in dire need of a new model for its winter sports.
The last 20 years have witnessed China's journey from an underdeveloped sports country to the host of both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Compared to its gold rush at Summer Olympics, China's mean harvest from the Winter Games drives the country's athletes to make breakthroughs.
It was not until the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville that Ye Qiaobo won China's first winter Olympic medal - a silver in the women's 500m speed skating. One decade later, Yang Yang claimed China's first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal in the women's 500m short-track event in 2002.
However, among China's 13 gold medals in the Winter Olympics so far, only one has been won in snow events. Young talents and greater public involvement are much needed to bridge the gap and bolster the country's winter sports.
China's vision of engaging 300 million people in winter sports has become a reality thanks to the newfound passion for winter sports among Chinese of all ages following Beijing's successful bid for the 2022 Games. According to a survey released last month, over 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports since the country won the bid in 2015.
Soaring demand for winter sports has also fueled a boom in the construction of snow and ice facilities. China now has 654 standard ice rinks, an increase of 317% from 2015. The number of indoor and outdoor ski resorts has reached 803, up from 568 in 2015.
Gu Ailing of China in freeski big air training session at Big Air Shougang in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
The winter sports boom is poised to provide Gu with a bigger platform.
The prodigy will compete for gold medals in three events -- Freeski Big Air, halfpipe and slopestyle, with her debut scheduled for February 7 in the women's Freeski Big Air qualifiers.
"It means so much to me to be able to participate in Olympics, being able to ski for China is a great honor," she said.
"People look at their TVs and say 'hey, we're the same age and she's out there doing that, I can too.' " Gu said, "The sports culture still has room to grow, so I hope to be a part of that growth."
A snow Great Wall-shaped track has been built for the slopestyle event in Genting Snow Park at Zhangjiakou, which will witness how Gu and China write a new chapter to their Olympic journeys.
