China's freestyle snowboarder Yang sends fans into frenzy with a podium finish

China's freestyle snowboarder Yang Wenlong wowed the Beijing crowd on an otherwise disappointing Sunday night for Chinese fans by winning his first World Cup medal, following home favorite Su Yiming's crushing final performance.

Entering the 10-man final as a low-profile contender, Yang, a 25-year-old native of Liaoning province, overcame huge pressure to land two solid runs to score a combined 159.25 points to finish third at the Big Air World Cup series' Beijing leg at the Olympic venue in the Shougang Industrial Park.

Yang's inspiring podium finish, his first in 13 World Cup events since 2017, sent the enthusiastic Beijing fans back into frenzy after his fellow Olympic champion rider Su lost in his two first runs to unexpectedly finish at the bottom of the final field.

Big air involves boarders hurling themselves off a vertical drop and performing a variety of flips, spins and other stunts before landing on the slope.