China’s golden boy Su Yiming ‘dealing with injuries’, Xu Mengtao looking ahead to next Games
Snowboard star won the men’s slopestyle event on Wednesday, while veteran skier claimed the women’s aerials title on the same day
Su Yiming said he had endured “many injuries and hard times” in the four years between his two Winter Olympic gold medals.
The Chinese snowboard star won the men’s slopestyle event on Wednesday, adding gold to the big air bronze he claimed at the start of the Milano Cortina Games.
It was a fine way for Su to celebrate his birthday, but as well as the tears of joy that accompanied the feat, the 22-year-old gave an honest assessment of the personal cost of being the world’s best.
“I’ve been dealing with injuries, with sprained ankles,” Su said. “It’s so hard for me to ride, even to just do some easy tricks. But the last two years, we still have to compete at the World Cup to participate and get enough points for the Olympics.
“I’m mostly just riding with the injuries, with painkillers every single day, but it’s all paid off.”
In Beijing in 2022, Su took gold in the big air and silver in slopestyle, part of a Chinese delegation that produced the country’s best performance ever at a cold weather Games, winning nine golds, four silvers and two bronzes.