Aerials aces hitting the heights

Experienced trio wowing in World Cup to raise expectations of Olympic glory at Beijing 2022

Buoyed by back-to-back World Cup wins, China's celebrated freeski aerials team is soaring once more to raise hopes of Olympic gold on home snow.

Having missed out on gold at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, the experienced trio of Xu Mengtao, Qi Guangpu and Jia Zongyang are building toward another shot at glory in what will be their fourth, and possibly last, Olympics in Beijing.

A combination of injuries and the pandemic limited them to training at home for 22 months, but they have made a strong return to international competition, winning consecutive World Cup mixed team titles at the first two legs of the International Ski Federation (FIS) series in Ruka, Finland.

Xu, Jia and Qi got off to a flying start in the series opener on Dec 3 by scoring 343.24 points to edge out Russia and Ukraine in the mixed team event, which will make its Olympic debut in Beijing.

The Chinese squad again impressed with their high jumps, multi-flip tricks and smooth landings in the second leg on Dec 11 at the same Finnish resort, where Xu, Qi and a younger reserve, Sun Jiaxu, led from start to finish to score a winning total of 354.87.

As one of four mixed events added to the Beijing 2022 Olympic program, the aerials team competition involves three skiers－a woman and two men or vice versa－taking turns to perform individual jumps. After a qualification round, the top four teams advance to a "super final" to decide the medals.

"It's quite reassuring to know that we have not been left behind," Xu said of the team's return to international action in Finland.

"Our efforts in training, especially the physical conditioning we did, during the long hiatus have paid off. We are back as strong as before, if not better.

"It helps to rebuild our confidence in time and get us back to competition mode as quickly as possible for the all-important Olympics."

Before spearheading China's effort in the team event, Xu had also soared to new heights individually by out-scoring a strong field that included younger teammate Kong Fanyu and defending Olympic champion Hanna Huskova of Belarus.

Xu scored 99.49 points for a triple-flip with her final jump, which secured her 26th career World Cup triumph.

The victory saw Xu pass Australian legend Jacqui Cooper for the most World Cup wins on the all-time women's honors list.

"Time really flies, I can't believe I've been on the circuit for over 10 years," said the 31-year-old Liaoning province native, who won her first World Cup event in 2009.

"It's a huge seal of approval for my ability and longevity at elite level, and more importantly a reward for the team's support for me over the years.

"It proves that our whole support system works pretty well in a tricky outdoor event where weather, tactics and mentality are all major factors. I am glad a Chinese now owns the record."

Ever since men's freeskier Han Xiaopeng's breakthrough gold at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, China has maintained a steady production line of talent in aerials, with cross-sport recruitment and training methods adapted from the diving pool at the core of the national program.

Due to similarities in some of the tricks and stunts, the aerials team drafts young athletes from sports such as gymnastics, trampoline and martial arts.

The national squad uses artificial snow ramps at its Qinhuangdao base in Hebei province to perfect descent, takeoff and aerial tricks before plunging safely into a deep landing pool. Landing is later finessed on real snow slopes in the winter.

The program has helped China collect 17 world championship medals, including seven gold. However, reaching the top Olympic podium again has proved elusive.

At the last Games in South Korea, veteran Jia, a former gymnast, finished second in the men's final, just 0.46 points behind winner Oleksandr Abramenko of Ukraine, while Zhang Xin also had to settle for silver in the women's event, won by Huskova of Belarus.

Xu, who entered the Pyeongchang Games as one of the favorites for gold, didn't even reach the final round after hurting her knees while landing her second run.

"I feel so blessed and honored to be back preparing for my fourth Games," said Xu, who had surgeries on both knees after the 2018 Games amid speculation that she would retire.

"Injuries and recovery, I've experienced all the ups and downs to be mature enough to just target doing the best that I can at home," Xu said of her Beijing 2022 goals.

The FIS World Cup series takes a break for Christmas before resuming on Jan 7 at Le Relais near Quebec, Canada.

The Chinese team will stay in Finland to continue training for the remainder of the Cup campaign leading up to Beijing 2022.

"We are gradually getting used to the intensive competition schedule again," said the 31-year-old Qi, a two-time world championship winner (2013 and 2015).

"It's time to shake off the rust and get as serious as we can to bring the best out of ourselves for the Olympics."