Wu Zhongwei of China celebrates after the Para snowboard men's banked slalom SB-LL1 event of Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, March 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)
Snowboarder Wu Zhongwei led both runs to claim men's banked slalom SB-LL1 title and China's 13th gold at Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
CHONGLI, Zhangjiakou, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China's snowboarder Wu Zhongwei finished first in both runs to snatch the men's banked slalom SB-LL1 title to give the hosts the 13th gold medal at the Beijing Paralympics on Friday.
The result of one minute and 11.92 seconds in the first run was good enough for the 26-year-old Wu to secure the gold, but he improved his performance in the second run to 1:10.85, 1.21 seconds ahead of PyeongChang 2018 silver medalist Chris Vos from the Netherlands, who placed second in both runs.
"I have been [performing] strong in banked slalom. Prior to my second run, my coach had told me the victory was sealed already, but I preferred to continue to try my best, to excel myself," said Wu. "I want to see if I can do better, and it turned out I actually did better in the second run."
Wu Zhongwei of China competes in the Para snowboard men's banked slalom SB-LL1 event of Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
Vos aimed to win the gold, but a silver is good enough for his efforts. "I really felt good. I was going for the gold medal, for sure. I gave everything I had. I tried everything and I can be proud of what I did today. The Chinese (Wu Zhongwei) was just faster," said the four-time world champion since 2015.
"I always go for gold but it just feels really good after the snowboard cross [last Monday] where I got fourth and just missed a medal but I have a medal right now," Vos commented.
"[It's about] fighting to the end and trying to get the best out of yourself. I just did two really good runs and I'm happy that it was enough for a medal."
Chris Vos of the Netherlands competes in the Para snowboard men's banked slalom SB-LL1 event of Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
The third place went to Tyler Turner. The 33-year-old Canadian had won the cross SB-LL1, in which he outperformed Wu. But on Friday, Turner was nearly two seconds behind Wu.
"My heart's still beating; this is the most stressed [moment] I've been all week. It was intensive," said Turner, who didn't expect to stand on the podium. "It was a lot of pressure; I was feeling the stress. That was a long, stressful day. I was relieved when I finished."
"I was showing up with no expectations here [today] and so it just feels different. I'm just so happy right now. This is a bonus. This is massive."
Tyler Turner of Canada competes in the Para snowboard men's banked slalom SB-LL1 event of Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Also on Friday, Sun Qi, 22, added the 14th gold for host China in the men's banked slalom SB-LL2.
China's Geng Yanhong and Li Tiantian reached the podium in the women's banked slalom SB-LL2, finishing second and third respectively. The gold medal went to American Brenna Huckaby.
In the men's banked slalom SB-UL event, Chinese pair Ji Lijia and Zhu Yonggang settled with silver and bronze respectively. Maxime Montaggioni of France overtook 19-year-old Ji by 0.45 seconds through his strong second run. ■
