Young Games stars make nation proud

Su wins country's first snowboarding gold at Olympics

Making their country proud with sports heroics beyond their years, the emergence of China's young athletes on the world stage at the Beijing Winter Olympics has inspired the nation's youths to dream big and push boundaries.

Snowboarding prodigy Su Yiming and teenage skier Gu Ailing have performed gravity-defying aerial feats to set the tone for a new generation of fearless Chinese winter sports competitors. Added to the athletic prowess are colorful personalities and tales of personal sacrifice that have won over fans at home and abroad.

After winning China's first ever Olympic gold medal in snowboarding on Tuesday, Su, who turns 18 on Friday, encouraged other youngsters to pursue their goals.

"It feels like a wild dream come true and it proves that hard work will always pay off," Su said after winning the men's Big Air final at the Shougang Industrial Park in Beijing.

"Everything I did along the way, regardless of the sweat and pain as well as overcoming setbacks, was driven by my love of snowboarding," said Su, who started snowboarding at the age of 4 after his parents took him to a ski resort for the first time. "I hope that everyone watching me can find what they are interested in and do whatever they can to pursue their own dreams."

Su's own challenge is overcoming fear as he stands on top of a 60-meter-high slope before launching himself into the air to perform difficult and dangerous aerial maneuvers before landing safely on a steep ramp.

Conquering that fear seemed impossible, but at age 9 Su naively declared his dream was to become the "king of snowboarding", a claim chronicled in a documentary of his career, which went viral on the internet hours after his gold medal win on Tuesday.

"At such a young age, I feel the sky is the limit. I still have a lot of possibilities, and I hope it will inspire more teenagers to follow their own path," said Su, who landed two 1800 tricks in the final to secure the gold with a combined score of 182.5 points.

Each rider takes three runs in the Big Air final with their two best scores counting in the final rankings.

Earlier, 19-year-old Rong Ge also delivered a major breakthrough after finishing fifth in the women's Big Air final, the best ever result for a Chinese competitor in the event.

With a similar upbringing to Su, Rong also became interested in the sport due to her parents' influence. She takes pride in presenting a vibrant and stylish new face of Chinese athletes on the international stage.

"I didn't have any pressure coming into the final. I just wanted to have fun and enjoy my Olympic ride as best as I could," said Rong, who nailed her second and third runs for a total of 160 points.

"More importantly, I am happy that I let the world know that young Chinese athletes can be competitive in the sport at the highest level," she said.

Freeski star Gu stayed calm on the snow on Tuesday after a poor performance in her second run in the women's slopestyle final when she had a poor landing. The teenager performed much better in her third run to win silver at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, Beijing's co-host in Hebei province.

Gu, who earlier won gold in the Big Air event, has a chance to secure a third medal when she competes in the halfpipe on Thursday.

The Chinese team, bolstered by its young stars, had won six gold medals, four silver and two bronze by Tuesday, already the country's biggest medal haul at a Winter Olympics with five days to go before the Beijing Games close on Sunday.