China's aerials queen is golden once more.
Xu Mengtao won back-to-back Olympic gold in women's aerials after successfully landing a back full-full-full on Wednesday in Livigno, Italy. The 35-year-old, who won gold in Beijing four years ago after besting then-defending champion Hanna Huskova (BEL), is the first skier in Olympic history to defend her gold in aerials.
Danielle Scott (AUS) nabbed silver after attempting a triple of her own, and while her form was impeccable, a shaky landing put her more than 10 points behind Xu's 112.90 points. China's Shao Qi, the only woman who did not attempt a triple in this event, snagged bronze. The Chinese aerialists are amongst the strongest in the world due to their ability to consistently put down triples. While they have been the key to their success, Shao only needed a clean back lay-full-full to grab a spot on the podium.
Xu came off strong in the final, but it was Scott who led the pack with a whopping 117.90 points at the end. The tables turned in the super final as the Aussie, skiing last, was unable to replicate her stellar landing in the semifinal.
Xu is the one of the most decorated aerials skiers of all time with 35 World Cup victories (the most in the discipline’s history), seven world medals, and now, two Olympic golds to her name. She came into her fifth Olympics making the podium in five of six World Cup appearances this season, winning her eighth Crystal Globe.
No one was more determined than Xu to win this event. The Liaoning native reportedly made 406 strategic tables over 20 years, including five for the changing weather conditions at the 2022 Winter Olympics, to put herself in prime position for Olympic gold. China has reached the podium in six out of seven Games in aerials since 1998, when Xu Nannan claimed China’s first medal in any skiing discipline with silver. Xu's gold in aerials is China's first freestyle skiing gold in these Games.
Fellow Chinese aerialist Kong Fanyu finished 2nd to Xu in the FIS World Cup standings this season. She looked to be in prime position for a medal after the first few rounds, and while she landed her triple better than Scott's, her low form score put her in 4th place.
American youngster Kaila Kuhn attempted her own triple, but landed awkwardly, leaning heavily on the back of her skis as her hand dragged through the snow for a 5th-place finish.
Kuhn surprised Xu to win her fist career World Cup victory earlier this year, landing her first clean full-full-full of the season. The two-time Olympian became the first aerialist to win two gold medals at a single world championship when she won both the women's event and mixed team event with Quinn Dehlinger and Christopher Lillis.
Teammate Winter Vinecki finished in 6th after trying to land a back lay-full-full. She fell on the back of her skis when landing, costing her a podium spot. Vinecki returned to competition this season after suffering a herniated disc in her neck last year.
American Tasia Tanner rounded out the American contingent qualified for the final; however, the scores of her back full-full were not enough to put her in the top six women advancing to the final.
Five of six women in the superfinal attempted a back full-full-full. The back full-full-full is one of the highest-scored tricks in women's aerials, involving three consecutive backflips, each with a full 360-degree twist.