China's snowboard ace Su Yiming wins slopestyle at National Winter Games

Gold medalist Su Yiming of Shanxi kisses the medal during the awarding ceremony of the men's snowboard slopestyle at the 14th National Winter Games in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Feb. 24, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Jianan)

HOHHOT, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Winter Olympics champion Su Yiming clinched back-to-back victories at China's 14th National Winter Games in Inner Mongolia on Saturday, winning the men's snowboard slopestyle event.

This marked Su Yiming's second gold at the National Winter Games, coming just a day after his triumph in the Big Air event.

Su, who won the Big Air gold and Slopestyle silver at Beijing 2022, performed at a superior level among the competitors in this event.

Despite a few flaws in his first run, Su showcased a flawless second run, with several stylish tricks on the rails and bars, earning the highest score of 96.6 points for Shanxi.

Heilongjiang snowboarder Gao Xuesong took the silver with 83.2, and Shandong's Liu Haoyu got the bronze with 78.

After completing the second run, Su threw his snowboard into the air, celebrating with raised arms.

Su said that his goal at this National Winter Games is to win both Big Air and slopestyle events. He described the victory today as a release of pressure.

"Both today and yesterday's competitions didn't go the way I particularly liked because there were mistakes in the first run, which means I had to handle the pressure until landing the last run," he added.

"I finally managed to stage the jumps and tricks I prepared. So, I am very happy."

Gold medalist Su Yiming (R) of Shanxi celebrates with his Japanese coach Sato Yasuhiro during the awarding ceremony of the men's snowboard slopestyle at the 14th National Winter Games in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Feb. 24, 2024. (Xinhua/Bei He)