The 2022 Winter Olympics might be over, but moments of hard-won victories will linger in the collective memory forever. Not only did Team China take nine golds, four silvers, and two bronzes, but for the first time ever China made it into the top three of the gold medal counts. Here's a quick recap of the nine times athletes brought home the gold.
First Gold
Team China nabbed its first gold in short track speed skating. Wu Dajing, who ran last for the team, beat Pietro Sighel from Italy by 0.016 seconds. The victory was unbelievable, given that the team almost failed to even make it to the final when they finished third.
However, that initial failure didn't slow these skaters. As soon as the final kicked off, Fan Kexin took the lead, only to have the competition quickly called off when two other skaters went down. Nevertheless, China took second in the final match and then went head-to-head in the final with Italy where Wu Dajing took the win, and Team China the championship.
Second Gold
Men's short track speed skating also saw Team China's second gold. It was a bit of a dramatic twist. Ren Ziwei finished just behind Hungary’s Liu Shaolin, and just when Liu thought it was time to celebrate, he was penalized following a review, and the victory was eventually awarded to Ren. China’s Li Wenlong also grabbed silver in the race.
Third Gold
Although Eileen Gu initially placed third in the women’s free-ski big air final, it was thanks to one trick that she was able to snag a gold: a double cork 1620.
What’s a double cork 1620 you ask? It’s a little hard to explain, but from the looks of the video above, it’s a difficult trick to pull off, making that a well-deserved win!
Fourth Gold
China had never taken home a gold in speedskating until Gao Tingyu came along. After Gao crossed the finish line, his teammates and coaches were so elated they ran over to help him celebrate. The Olympian then grabbed his country’s flag and skated the ice ribbon one more time, joyous ‘til the end.
Fifth Gold
China’s fifth gold came in women's aerials thanks to Xu Mengtao, who burst into tears when she dethroned defending 2018 champ Hanna Huskova of Belarus. Although the execution of the final jump wasn’t perfect, the landing score of 7.8 ultimately guaranteed Xu the championship.
Sixth Gold
Former child actor Su Yiming, who made a career shift to focus on his passion for snowboarding, took home gold in the sport during the Games.
The 17-year-old made history when he became the first man in China to win men's big air gold. Plus, he turned 18 a few days ago, making this win one sweet early birthday gift.
Seventh Gold
Qi Guangpu took home a gold medal in the men's aerials finals with an outstanding performance and a high score of 129.
Eighth Gold
Eileen Gu continued to prove herself the darling of Beijing 2022 with another gold for China in women's freestyle skiing halfpipe. She nailed down a score of 93.25 on her first run, a score so high that none of the other skiers could match it. This cemented her win, allowing her to take the championship without a third round.
Ninth Gold
China's final gold at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics came in figure skating. Despite losing gold at Pyeongchang 2018 by the smallest margin, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong did not walk away disappointed this time around. In fact, their brilliant performance brought a score so high it set a new world record.
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Images: 搜狐 九派新闻 澎拜新闻，人民日报，搜狐