The gold and silver medalists of the women's freeski halfpipe event at the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games shared their excitement after the competition and expressed their aspirations for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Running from February 7 to14 in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the 9th Asian Winter Games has brought together 1,275 competitors from 34 countries and regions, making it the largest edition of the Games in terms of overall participation.
In the women's freeski halfpipe event at Yabuli Ski Resort on Saturday, 21-year-old Li Fanghui secured the gold with an impressive score of 95.25. Fellow Chinese athlete Zhang Kexin took the silver with 89.25, while South Korea's Jang Yu-jin earned the bronze with a score of 85.00.
In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) on Saturday in Harbin, the two Chinese athletes shared their feelings after the competition.
"I feel calmer now after the competition. I was really excited during the award ceremony, but now I've cooled off. I started off playing it safe in the final, but when I saw the scores, they were quite high. So, my focus is consistent execution," Li said.
When reflecting on the competition, Li noted that each athlete brought creativity, leading to the discovery of new moves and the increasing variability of routines.
"The competition has shown more creativity, with each athlete bringing something new. With steady input of creativity and new tricks being unlocked, there is a lot of room to explore in terms of variety," she said.
On her goal for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Li expressed her determination to perfect her skills in order to stand on the podium.
"My focus now is on training for Milan. I want to stand on the podium. In daily training, it's about increasing the difficulty and perfecting my execution, so that ideally I can finish the whole set of moves without mistakes in competition," Li said.
Zhang said that the competition helped her build confidence.
"I felt I'm more relaxed today during the competition. I was very tense even in training. This competition has helped me become more confident," Zhang said.
Looking ahead to the 2026 Winter Olympics, Zhang said she looks forward to new challenges and new breakthroughs.
"The goal is to advance safely to Milan and then give it my all, continuing to challenge myself. I believe I can do it," she said confidently.
Freeski medalists recall winning excitement, set sights on Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
