China Goes Big in Olympic Men’s Aerials

China has four men taking part in the freestyle skiing aerials competition at the Sochi Olympics on Monday night, more than any other country apart from Belarus, which also has four.

Jia Zongyang, Qi Guangpu, Wu Chao and Liu Zhongqing, the relative elder statesman of the team at 28 years old, carry Chinese hopes for aerials gold after the women’s team fell just short once again, picking up silver for the third Olympics in a row.

China has topped the podium in the men’s event before. Han Xiaopeng won gold in the men’s aerials at the 2006 Olympics in Turin to become the first man to win a gold for China in the Winter Olympics. Chinese women have fared much better than men at the Winter Olympics, winning 10 ½ of the 12 golds China has bagged since 2002 (Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo won gold in the pairs figure skating in 2010, hence the half.)

Liu won bronze in aerials four years ago in Vancouver, but his form has been mixed ahead of Sochi. Since mid-December, he has won two World Cup events, finished second in another and dropped to 12th and 25th in two more.

In Qi, China has the reigning men’s aerials world champion. The 23-year-old is, along with Liu, among the favorites to win a medal in Sochi on Monday night. He was only 16 when he joined the World Cup circuit and has improved steadily since, all the way to a first-place finish in the latest World Cup event in Lake Placid last month.
However, like Liu (who finished second in Lake Placid), Qi has struggled for consistency. Prior to his victory in Lake Placid, he finished 19th in Val St. Come, Canada.

But even if Liu and Qi fail to live up to expectations, China still has Wu and Jia.

Wu, a 26-year-old from the northeastern province of Jilin, finished ninth and eighth at Lake Placid and Val St. Come. Jia, a 22-year-old from Liaoning province, has gone off the boil in 2014, finishing in 25th place in Lake Placid, 15th in Val St. Come and 23rd in Deer Valley on Jan. 10.

But Jia has an impressive overall record in World Cup competitions, with nine wins from 30 competitions. If he can replicate last year’s form, he’ll be a medal contender in Sochi.
With such strength in depth in this event, it would be disappointing if China doesn’t add to its medal tally tonight. The country has five medals so far in Sochi, including three golds.

Belarus has a rich history in men’s freestyle aerials, winning more medals in the event than any other nation. Alexei Grishin won gold in Vancouver and bronze in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, and even at the age of 34, he could upset China’s medal chances. This is his fifth Olympics. His compatriot, Anton Kushnir, is also a threat to China’s hopes.

Switzerland and Russia both have three skiers in the event, while Ukraine and Kazakhstan have two each. Australia, Canada and the U.S. all have one skier taking part. The competition will miss 2010 silver medalist and inventor of the “hurricane” maneuver, Jeret Peterson. The American skier committed suicide in 2011.

The first qualification round starts at 5:45 p.m. Sochi time, which is 9:45 p.m. in China. There will be three final rounds, the third of which starts at 10:12 p.m. Sochi time.

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