China celebrated a unique double at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday as Wang Xindi soared to gold in the men's freestyle skiing aerials -- two days after his wife Xu Mengtao had topped the women's podium.
The victory made them a rare married couple to each win individual gold medals at these Games.
Xu is a 35-year-old, five-time Olympian, as well as the first athlete to win two Olympic titles in the freestyle skiing women's aerials.
Her Olympic journey has never been smooth. She finished sixth on her debut at Vancouver 2010, then soon emerged as the world's dominant aerialist, winning consecutive World Cup overall titles. At Sochi 2014, she took silver, a rising star expected to go one step higher.
Then heartbreak struck. Two years before PyeongChang 2018, a crash at China's National Winter Games tore the ACL in her left knee. Surgery followed. Rehabilitation was grueling. She made it to the Olympics, only to falter again in the final, finishing ninth.
Redemption finally arrived at Beijing 2022. On home snow, Xu reached the summit and realized her lifelong Olympic dream.
"In the process of my growth from a new hand to champion, I might seem so strong. I'm not afraid of working hard. Up to now, I believe that it's the simplest thing to work hard. But perhaps what I need more is support," Xu said.
"My heart aches for her, as we all known she has undergone four major surgeries. Moreover, she is currently one of the oldest woman athletes in this event. Perhaps in our country, no one at such an age can still engage in such a high-risk event and maintain absolute dominance. It is extremely difficult to remain strong. Sometimes I ask her 'What are you after? You're already an Olympic champion and you've won over 100 world-class gold medals. What else do you seek for now? More fame or fortune?' She says she seeks none of them, and she follows her passion," Wang said.
"We celebrated her gold, but I was also quick to refocus on my own event," Wang said afterward. "We've battled together for years, but we're also professionals. While I was rejoicing with her, I couldn't forget I still had my own event to compete in." Wang, 30, delivered when it mattered most. Third to jump in the super final, he landed a near-flawless routine for 132.60 points.
Competing at his third Olympics, Wang had never finished higher than 14th in previous appearances at Beijing 2022 and PyeongChang 2018.
Xu's brilliant achievements have, in an intangible way, set a benchmark for Wang. During the training for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Wang worked even harder.
"For myself, I think I'm in my best state now, both in competitive state and physical preparation. I think I have a more mature mindset compared to the previous two sessions. Because I'm more mature in my competitive state, as well as my ability and difficulty degree of my movements. Now, what is more needed is to fight a well-prepared battle. I think I still have shortcomings, of course. However, there are so many excellent teammates around, so I should learn from them to make myself even stronger, and compete with good preparations at the Olympic arena," Wang said.
In recent years, Xu has witnessed her husband's every little progress.
"I can feel his growth, as well as his longing for the gold medals, over the past four years. All his efforts in this process have influenced me, especially when I feel a bit weak in my mind. He is tenacious, which is his merit, so whenever he encounters any setbacks or something like that, he can always hold on. It makes me feel very secure. Because he is not only my family member but also my teammate. His state can influence the overall training atmosphere, and means there is room for improvement. As a result, it also gives us more strength to fight for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics," Xu said.
"She didn't say that to me face to face, but I can sense from her behavior that it's her hope for me to do better, as she's seen my efforts. It's what has moved me: She is the one who sincerely hopes me can become a better person. I indeed have learned to be tenacious from her. And even after achieving such a peak, she still has continued to challenge herself. To me as an athlete, it's very much inspiring," Wang said.
Chinese couple makes Milan-Cortina history with dual aerials golds
