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Slovenia biggest winner at Beijing 2022 ski jumping, Chinese youth forge ahead

(Xinhua) 09:45, February 16, 2022

CHONGLI, Zhangjiakou, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- After ski jumping competitions at Beijing 2022 concluded on Monday, Slovenia has clinched two of the five gold medals, the most among all teams.

"The hard work has paid off," Ursa Bogataj said after claiming the first-ever Olympic ski jumping gold for Slovenia in the women's normal hill individual on February 5, where her teammate Nika Kriznar also won a bronze in the event.

"Two good friends standing on the podium in Olympic Games is just a dream. Me and Nika feel like sisters. Our dreams came true today," Bogataj noted.

Two days later, Bogataj and Kriznar stood on the top of the podium hand in hand as they won the ski jumping mixed team gold in the event's Olympic debut at Beijing 2022, together with their teammates Timi Zajc and Peter Prevc.

"I didn't expect that we would win the team today. It is my dream. We have a strong women's and men's team, and we did a great job," said Zajc.

In the men's team competition, the Slovenian quartet won the silver, 8.3 points behind the champion Austria in the final, while the bronze went to Germany.

Besides the men's team bronze, this season's World Cup leader Karl Geiger also won the large hill individual bronze, before which he struggled in the pre-match training and just placed the 15th in the normal hill individual.

When he finally reached the podium at Beijing 2022, Geiger clenched his fists and shouted to express his emotions.

"The bronze means a lot to me, because the last few days were really hard. I was hopeless as I have good jumps during the whole season, but nothing works in the most important competition. I got punched down on the normal hill, but I need to stand up and go up again," Geiger said.

Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi, the runner-up of this season's World Cup standing, showed good form at the Olympics, winning a gold in men's normal hill individual and a silver in large hill.

Polish ski jumper Kamil Stoch, the defending champion of men's large hill individual at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018, failed to win a medal at Beijing 2022.

"I still feel I can do much better. I can enjoy the competition with a bigger smile on my face. All athletes have something magical inside. I suppose that everyone wants to show this during the competition, but only the best can win," said the 34-year-old.

Another veteran, Simon Ammann of Switzerland, four-time Olympic champion, enjoyed his seventh Olympic journey at Beijing 2022, but finished the 25th in both individual competitions and eighth in men's team.

Looking back over the whole Olympic journey, Ammann said: "I realize even more what a lucky guy I am, while it's time for a young guy to play my role."

"I always watched Ammann on television when I was young, and I saw him win the gold medal. Maybe I am the new wild one," said the 23-year-old Marius Lindvik of Norway, Beijing 2022 large hill gold medalist.

At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese athletes set a record in the number of ski jumping events participated. "Most of us picked up ski jumping less than four years ago. Standing on the Olympic hill is an honor for each of us," said Song Qiwu, who trained for the 110m hurdles before December 2018.

Dong Bing of China, the 31st in the first round of women's normal hill individual, registered the best performance among Chinese ski jumpers at Beijing 2022, but failed to step into the final round that featured top 30.

"I was so close to the final. I tried my best, but I still need to learn from world top ski jumpers and improve myself in the future," Dong said.

The 17-year-old Peng Qingyue is the youngest Chinese ski jumper at Beijing 2022 and finished 38th in women's normal hill individual.

"The Beijing Winter Olympics is a start for me, and I will strive for the next Olympics and aim to fly further," Peng said. 

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun)

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