China's freestyle skiers Xu Mengtao and Wang Xindi said they will compete in the next Winter Olympics after making history at the just-concluded Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics as a married couple winning separate individual gold medals in the same discipline at the same Games.
Wang delivered a near-flawless jump to win the men's freestyle skiing aerials gold medal at the Winter Olympics just two days after his wife Xu topped the women's podium in the same discipline.
Speaking to China Media Group, Xu and Wang unveiled their plan.
"Our shared plan is we're both going to keep going. Our next goal is to compete in the French Alps 2030 Winter Olympics," said Xu.
Xu, 35, has competed through five Olympic cycles, while Wang, 30, has stayed the course through three.
Xu said she thought it would be pretty cool if she can still stand on the Winter Olympic stage at the age of 40.
The two skiers share strikingly similar paths. Both trained in gymnastics since childhood before switching to freestyle skiing aerials. They met in 2007 on the national team. Their Olympic journeys converged at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. Before that, Xu had already competed twice, finishing sixth and then winning a silver. In PyeongChang, however, she placed ninth, while Wang finished 14th. During the following Olympic cycle leading up to Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic, the two became a couple.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Xu won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in women's freestyle skiing aerials for China after her four Olympic cycles, four major surgeries, and 16 years of persistence.
For Wang, however, Beijing left unfinished business. He was still recovering during the Games after a surgery in 2021. He finished 14th again for the second consecutive Olympics, plunging into deep self-doubt.
Wang said he thought about quitting and said there were a few times when he got very emotional.
Xu said the two worked through the low tide period in their career together.
"When things were hard, we would take time to sit down and talk thing through, digging into what caused the setback or struggle. We talk a lot, about everything. Every time we talk, we'd find a way through," said Xu.
After the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the couple announced their marriage. Following a brief break, they returned to training together for Milan-Cortina. Xu set her sights on retaining title, while Wang aimed to reach the podium. "What keeps me going is the magic of the Olympic Games. Perhaps a seed of victory was planted deep within me from childhood, I fell in love with skiing aerials, and with the moment of seeing the national flag raise and hearing the anthem play. For me, just participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics itself is already something great," Xu said.
At Milan-Cortina, both Xu and Wang took to the aerials course as core members of China's team. In the six-skier super final on the evening of Feb 18, Xu defended the women's freeski aerials title with a textbook back full-full-full, scoring 112.90 points. As the Chinese national flag rose and the Chinese national anthem played during the medal ceremony, tears streamed down her face.
Xu said at that moment, the past four years played like a movie in her head. She said she thought being able to contribute a gold medal to the Chinese team at the winter Olympics makes everything worthwhile.
"I feel quite proud of myself. It's about passion, dedication, and the desire to achieve greatness, to become a legend, to create endless possibilities at this milestone moment in my career. When I look back on this one and only journey of my life, perhaps when I'm 40, I hope I'll be filled with beautiful memories of aerials. I don't want my success to be defined only by gold medals, including this one. I believe in the value of the fighting spirit. Sometimes when my friends and family say things like, 'Taotao, you're still training? How are you so amazing?' or 'You've competed [five] times already,' I'll take that as a compliment," she said.
Xu's words struck a chord with his husband who said he felt more admiration than heartache.
"It does not really hurt my heart; it is more a sense of admiration. I feel her perspective is different from mine. She's like climbing a mountain, and standing on the mountain, then moving on to conquer another one. That is something I truly admire," he said.
Two days after topping the women's podium, Xu went to the venue to support her husband in the men's aerials final.
Wang delivered a near-flawless jump with a degree of difficulty of 5.1, scoring 132.60 points, the highest of the night, to win the men's freestyle skiing aerials gold medal. The moment the result was confirmed, Xu ran toward him, and the two hugged tightly.
While the couple is preparing for the next Winter Olympics in 2030, Xu said she already has a vision for her life after sport.
"I've drawn a line for myself: maybe I'll compete until 40. After that, my life will be about family: spending time with my parents, raising children. That's the future I look forward to, and it makes me really happy," said Xu.
Chinese couple winning 2 golds at Milan-Cortina eye next Olympic Games
