At Switzerland's FIS Snowboard, Freestyle, and Freeski World Championships on Saturday, six out of eight athletes from China advanced to the aerials finals, showcasing remarkable skill and tenacity.
In the women's qualifying rounds, Xu Mengtao and Chen Xuezheng successfully executed a back double Full-Full jump with a difficulty rating of 3.525. Xu Mengtao shone brightly by scoring 90.24 points to finish second, while Chen Xuezheng earned 82.83 points, ensuring her spot in the finals. Teammate Shao Qi also secured her place by performing a back Full-Full with a 3.150 degree difficulty, scoring 85.99 points to claim third in the first round.
Demonstrating resilience, Chen Meiting overcame an initial setback with a back layout Full-Full in round one by raising the difficulty to a back flip triple Full in the second round. Despite encountering errors, she advanced to the final with 77.33 points.
On the men's side, all four competitors attempted a back layout double Full-Full with a challenging difficulty of 4.425. Wang Xindi executed his jump with precision—despite a slight flaw on landing—scoring 116.37 points to finish third, which earned him a final spot. In the second round, while the team pushed for even more difficult maneuvers, only Sun Jiaxu managed to secure qualification with 111.95 points, as Olympic champion Qi Guangpu and Li Tianma were eliminated.
These dynamic performances highlight the blend of technical precision and determination that defines today’s aerials competition, setting the stage for an exhilarating final round at the world championships.
Reference(s):
Six Chinese athletes into aerials finals at FIS World Championships
cgtn.com
