No gold, no problem — China's star snowboarder Su Yiming is embracing his near-miss from a back-to-back gold in big air at Milano-Cortina 2026 as a reboot for his career, eyeing more breakthroughs in slopestyle.
Despite landing lower than he'd expected in the big air final at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Saturday, Su walked off the podium as proud as he could be, taking pride from not just staying among the world elites in the gravity-defying tough sport four years after his home win at Beijing 2022, but also growing more resilient and mature in the face of enormous pressure.
The pressure as defending champion to deliver Team China's first gold in Italy took a toll on Su's execution on Saturday, landing a bit off-balance in both his second and third run in the final, costing him dearly in the high-flying event where smooth landing matters just as much as the spins and style of athletes' aerials stunts.
The 21-year-old eventually scored a total combine of 168.50 points from his first and third run to settle with a bronze medal, following Japanese duo of Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata, who won gold and silver respectively with 179.50 and 171.50 points.
Big air consists of one single jump off a huge ramp, where the rider varies spins, flips, and holds of the board.
The temporary Olympic slope built on scaffolding at the Livigno Snow Park peaks at over 40 meters, sending the riders soaring down a landing ramp that was lit by floodlights for the nighttime event.
"I'm really happy and proud of myself to earn this medal at my second Olympic Games," Su said after the final, cheered on by a vocal crowd of Chinese supporters, including his parents. "I had so much pressure going in as a defending champion."
"I'm just really proud of myself to deal with such a big pressure and still be able to land my tricks. Finally, I have every single colour of medals," Su, who also won an Olympic silver medal in slopestyle at Beijing 2022, said.
"I'm truly delighted and honored to wear the national colors, representing my country on the Olympic stage again and securing the whole delegation's first medal at Milano-Cortina 2026."
Next up for Su will be an attempt to go one better than Beijing 2022 in slopestyle — another event where he is expecting to give a strong showing — which will kick off the qualification round on Feb 16 at the same park.
"I missed out from gold in slopestyle four years ago, so now I am even more motivated to try to make up for that regret here in Italy," Su, who's also won multiple World Cup series titles in slopestyle relying on his variety of tricks, said.
"I will focus 100 percent in the next 10 days in training for slopestyle, going all out to prepare myself to the best I can while also enjoying the ride in the process."
