Defending champion Su rebounds to survive big air qualification at Milan-Cortina 2026 (updated)

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Su Yiming of China recovered from an early setback to progress to the snowboard men's big air final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics here on Thursday.

Su only notched 22.00 points on his opening jump, but came back strongly in the later runs. He landed a backside 1800 nose grab for 87.75 points on his second attempt and followed it with a switch backside 1980 melon grab for 85.00, which proved enough to secure a place in the final.

After completing his final jump, Su raised both fists repeatedly and shouted toward the finish area, visibly releasing the pressure built up earlier in the round.

"I was disappointed with my first jump," Su admitted. "Under pressure, it's not always easy to show what you are capable of, but experience from previous competitions helped me handle the situation better."

The 21-year-old rose to prominence at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, where he claimed gold in the men's big air, delivering China's first-ever Olympic gold medal in snowboarding, and added a silver medal in slopestyle. After being troubled by injuries in the seasons following Beijing 2022, he has staged a strong comeback this winter, winning two big air World Cups and leading the discipline's standings.

"The level here is much higher than it was four years ago," Su said. "It's impressive to see how fast snowboarding is developing, and going into the final, it will come down to mentality. I just want to trust myself and enjoy the competition."

Other two Chinese snowboarders Ge Chunyu and Yang Wenlong both failed to break into the top 12 needed to reach the final.

Yang said he felt disappointed after missing out on the final, believing his performance could have been enough to progress.

"Based on my own assessment, I thought I had a chance to make the final," he said. "The scores were lower than I had expected, especially compared with previous World Cup events."

In his Olympic debut, 19-year-old Ge said he chose to focus on executing the tricks within his current ability rather than taking excessive risks. "I just wanted to perform what I'm capable of," he said. "For me, it's about doing my own runs well and staying safe."

Japan had a strong showing in qualification, with all four of its riders advancing. Hiroto Ogiwara led the Japanese contingent, topping the standings after scoring 90.50 and 88.00 points on his first two jumps.

Italy's Ian Matteoli impressed on home snow, opening with a competition-high 93.75 points from a switch backside 1980 melon grab and finishing second overall with a total score of 174.50 points.

"I'm trying to experience this more as a journey than a contest," Matteoli said. "I came here to do what I trained for, and it worked. Going into the final, I just want to enjoy it and do my best."

A total of 30 athletes competed in the qualification, with each athlete taking three runs. The best two scores were combined to determine the standings, and the top 12 advanced to Saturday's final. ■