Qi's perseverance finally pays off

The moment Qi Guangpu landed without a slip, applause and cheers rang out around Genting Snow Park; just as quickly, spectators fell silent again, as all held their breath awaiting the judges' decision.

A score of 129 points for a highly difficult back double full-full-double full－a quintuple twist with three flips－proved enough to earn Qi men's freeski aerials gold, and then the celebrations really erupted from every corner of the venue.

Qi's victory was his first individual Olympic gold medal and China's seventh at Beijing 2022.

"This is my fourth Olympics. I have learned a lot. This is the time for me to win the gold medal in China, my home country. I am very happy my people are here with me. I can feel they are very happy and excited," he said.

All but one skier went for a 5.0 degree of difficulty on their last jump, but it was Qi who executed best, distancing himself from the field by a significant margin.

Defending champion Oleksandr Abramenko earned Ukraine its first medal of Beijing 2022 by claiming silver.

Ilia Burov of the Russian Olympic Committee was the lone athlete to jump at a lower difficulty level, but he secured bronze with a clean landing and a score of 114.93.

China's Jia Zongyang, who took silver with Qi and Xu Mengtao in the mixed team event, missed out on the super final by 0.08 points, as well as his chance to become the first person to claim four Olympic medals in aerials.

At 31 years, 119 days, Qi became the oldest gold medalist in the event, and the four-time Olympian said he drew on all his years of experience throughout his Beijing 2022 campaign.

"As you get older as an athlete, you encounter more failures and setbacks, but you also become more determined. You are more focused on your tricks when you stand at the starting point," Qi said.

"I couldn't get gold at the previous three Olympic Games. But thanks to the losses I suffered, I was able to focus more on my training and preparations, and to analyze the reasons for my previous failures."

With Final 2 contested with only one jump, Qi went all out for victory with a trick he had not practiced much this year.

"That was the last jump, and I was the only Chinese athlete left," he said. "I had no choice but to give it a go.

"I knew a lot of people would question that degree of difficulty, but I was just focusing on my own moves. I have succeeded many times in the World Cup and world championships, but I have never succeeded at the Winter Olympics. And today, no matter what the situation was, I was ready to do this trick without hesitation."

Qi has endured some dark days in his career over the past 16 years, and even briefly quit aerials after the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games. The desire to win gold, though, drove him back to the practice ramp.

"I think the attraction of competitive sports is that there are both successes and failures. Everyone keeps working hard, constantly surpassing themselves and their opponents as well."

Silver medalist Abramenko paid tribute to Qi, saying: "It's always difficult to compete against the Chinese athletes. They always perform perfectly in jumps with excellent technique."

Qi said he had fantasized about winning the title many times, and even "shed a few precious tears" as he visualized the scene.

"In fact, I cried just now. When I hugged those who helped me, I couldn't help but shed tears," he said. "Especially the moment I found out I was the champion, and when I ran out with the flag and stood in the middle of the field, I couldn't hold my tears anymore."

Qi didn't rule out defending his title at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

"Hopefully next time I'll be more proficient in holding the flag around the field," he joked, "or maybe even run two laps."