Su Yiming’s double 1800s seal Team China gold in men’s snowboard big air

A pair of huge 1800s (front and backside) in his first two runs was enough to see 17-year-old Su Yiming grab the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games gold medal for men’s snowboard big air in a tense day of high-flying competition at the Shougang Industrial Park.

It was the first-ever snowboard gold medal for the People’s Republic of China.

“This moment is just so special for me and for my family,” said Yiming of the historic gold he won with members of his family cheering him on in the crowd. “We have been dreaming about this moment for a long time and finally it has happened.

“This is my first Olympics Games and I just wanted to enjoy it,” he went on. “It’s about snowboarding and that is what I love to do.”

Norwegian Mons Roisland’s consistency through his three runs was good enough to earn him silver while Canadian Max Parrot’s cab 1800 helped him take the bronze with the help of a shrewd 1620 in his last run.

Parrot’s bronze is his second medal of these Beijing Games as, just days ago, he topped the podium with a slopestyle gold.

Team USA’s 22-year-old rider Chris Corning finished the first round of runs in first place (92.00) after a flurry of 1800s from a motivated field of riders raised the bar early on. But Team China’s young star Yiming (silver winner from the Beijing 2022 men’s slopestyle event) and the Norwegian pair of Roisland and Marcus Kleveland were right on the American’s heels.

Things started to progress in a big way in the second round.

The host nation’s teenage star Su went into the stratosphere with a backside 1800 to add to the frontside 1800 he landed in the first round. Canada’s Parrot put down his first score in the 90s and moved up the standings as the top-three riders heading into the final round were Su (first), Roisland (second) and Niek van der Velden of the Netherlands trying to hang on in third.

The final round proved a chaotic festival a boundary-pushing as contenders went for broke in a final push for a place on the podium. Parrot’s 1620 knocked USA’s Red Gerard out of contention and Roisland’s similar 1620 moved him up into second place.

That all meant that Su’s final run was a virtual victory lap with the win already sealed up in front the home crowd. He floated up over the spectators to the sounds of a standing ovation before being mobbed by his fellow competitors with congratulations on his historic achievement.