China’s Wang Ziyang advances to men’s snowboard halfpipe final at Milan-Cortina

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese snowboarder Wang Ziyang finished 10th in the men’s halfpipe qualification with a second-run score of 80.50 points at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday, securing a place in the final.

The 22-year-old, who placed 21st at Beijing 2022, landed three 1440s and two 1260s in his decisive run, electrifying the crowd.

« I gave my very best today, » said Wang, who had been sidelined by injury for 10 months since the 2025 Asian Winter Games. « Since my recovery, I haven’t been able to perform at my highest level. But this time I really did. The second run was so good that the whole place got fired up. »

« I didn’t prepare much after recovery, just picked things up bit by bit, » he added. « It was pure guts, not being afraid to crash. At the Olympics, you just go for it, no matter if you fall. »

Despite his aggressive approach in competition, Wang admitted fear remains a constant companion.

« There’s no psychological way to overcome fear. It’s terrifying. I know that. I’m still really scared, » he said. « In training, I don’t do many difficult tricks. My coach often hears me say that I can’t break through the mental block. But in competition, I do. Today I felt I pushed past it. »

Wang regularly posted snowboarding clips on social media. He expressed hopes that his videos can inspire others to take up the sport.

« I started posting for fun, just to show people what I do, » he said. « Some think the tricks look cool and want to try it themselves. Even people who have never skied might think, ‘it looks awesome, I want to give it a go.’ If my videos make people want to ski, that’s enough for me. »

Australia’s Scotty James, the Beijing 2022 silver medalist competing in his fifth Olympics, topped the qualification with a first-run score of 94.00 points, while Japan’s Yuto Totsuka and Ryusei Yamada ranked second and third, respectively.

« I was expecting the runs to be pretty heavy, » 31-year-old James said. « The pipe rides really well, so it was amazing to come out and put the first run down. »

The Australian admitted he pushed beyond his usual qualification strategy. « I knew I was going to do the switchback 1440. That’s not something I would typically do. But here, I wanted to give myself some breathing room and managed to do that. »

17-year-old Ren Chongshuo, the youngest member of the Chinese delegation at Milan-Cortina, placed 20th and failed to advance to the 12-man final scheduled for Friday at Livigno Snow Park. ■

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