Gold medalist Gu Ailing (center) of China, silver medalist Tess Ledeux (left) of France and bronze medalist Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland pose for a photo during the medal ceremony of the women’s freeski big air at the Beijing Medals Plaza of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 8

Gu Ailing, 18, became China’s first female gold medalist on snow, performing a previously unseen trick in the freeski big air competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on February 8.

“That was the best moment of my life,” Gu said after the race. “The happiest moment, day, of my life. I just cannot believe what just happened.”

In freeski big air’s Olympic debut, Gu stomped a double cork 1620 with a safety grab, a stunt she had never accomplished in previous competitions or training sessions, and thus secured China’s third gold at the Games.

“It was breathtaking to see this level of performance ... I can’t imagine what must have gone through her head before doing it,” said Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who witnessed the historic moment on site.

Gu, known as Eileen in the U.S., was born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother and American father. She has been coming out for Team China since 2019.

At the ensuing press conference, Gu expressed her gratitude to both China and the U.S. for their enduring support. “I feel like sports really are a way we can unite people; it doesn’t have to be something that’s related to nationality, and it’s not something that can be used to divide people. We are all out here together pushing the human limit,” she said.

“With the coronavirus pandemic still a reality for all of us and at a time when the world feels more divided than ever, Beijing 2022 will be an important moment to bring the world together in the spirit of peace, friendship and solidarity,” Bach said, echoing the new Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together.”

Prepare and present

Having already successfully hosted the Summer Olympics 14 years ago, Beijing becomes the first city to stage both summer and winter editions of the grandest of all global sporting events.

The games kicked off on February 4, the fourth day of the first lunar month, right during the Spring Festival holiday, China’s most important traditional celebration. They lasted until February 20. The Paralympic Games would then run from March 4 to 13.

With a green, inclusive, open, and clean approach in preparing for the Beijing 2022 Games, organizers have exerted many efforts to minimize the environmental impact, and bring about new development for the region and a better life for its people. This is also the first-ever Olympics whose venues are exclusively powered by clean energy from renewable sources and which use carbon dioxide to make ice.

Athletes contest in the men’s biathlon 20km individual at the National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, on February 8

Beyond scores

Winning is the goal, but not the only one. For many of the roughly 2,900 athletes from 91 countries and regions gathered in Beijing, the games are more about participating and sharing the joy of sports.

“It means a lot because this is the first-ever Winter Olympics for Saudi Arabia,” Saudi flagbearer Fayik Abdi said. “We’re really proud to be here and hopefully we can continue to be here in the future.”

Spanish freestyle skier Thibault Magnin told Xinhua News Agency, “Seeing all the nations here together is an unbelievable experience, and we’re going to enjoy it,” after settling into what he described as the “incredible” Olympic Village.

While crossing the finish line after her 3,000m race on February 5, German speed skater Claudia Pechstein wore a smile on her face despite knowing she would finish 20th - and last.

“But I am happy and proud of what I’ve achieved. That makes me smile,” the eight-time Olympian said.

Chinese skier Zhao Yang echoed Pechstein, as he finished at the bottom in the second qualification round for the men’s freestyle skiing moguls event at Beijing 2022, and failed to qualify for the finals on February 5.

“My dream to compete at the Olympics has come true. That’s all I can ask for. I tried my best,” said Zhao, who made China’s Olympic debut in the event.

“To an ordinary Chinese spectator sitting at home in front of the television like me, the games are never only about scores, but about the joys and tears during the competitions, and the persistent and dauntless athletic attitude. I empathize not only with the athletes from my own country, but with others as well,” Winter Olympic enthusiast and retiree in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province in northeast China, Wang Gejun told ChinAfrica.

China’s 177 athletes will compete in 104 events across 15 disciplines in all seven sports, the country’s largest-ever presence in a Winter Games. China had never competed in about one-third of the 109 events currently unfolding at Beijing 2022 when the city was awarded the games’ hosting rights in July 2015.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who believes sport is an important means for improving people’s health and meeting people’s aspirations for a better life, envisaged early in the bidding stage that the Winter Olympics could get 300 million Chinese people involved in winter sports.

A roar for more

Over 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports activities since Beijing’s successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2015, according to statistics released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics in January. Accounting for the biggest percentage are those aged between 18 and 30, with 82 million people falling into this category.

Various means and measures make skiing more accessible to the public, with hundreds of new facilities constructed over the past several years. As of 2020, China featured 803 ski resorts, up from 568 in 2015. There are also 654 ice rinks across the country, an increase of more than 317 percent from 2015.

Thanks to hi-tech facilities such as artificial ice rinks that can be detached and moved, artificial intelligence skiing simulators and the dry-land roller ski training methods, winter sports have now reached the country’s warmer southern provinces and have been added to the curricula of over 2,000 schools.

“This extraordinary achievement rings in a whole new era for global winter sports. It will raise participation to new levels, benefiting the Chinese people as well as winter sports enthusiasts worldwide,” Bach said.

The Beijing 2022 Games may “change the scale of winter sports forever,” he concluded.