Go big or go home.
Words Switzerland's Noe Roth lived by in the men's aerials final but weren't enough to win him Olympic gold. That honor went to China's Wang Xindi, who landed a trick with five twists to claim his first Olympic gold.
Wang's win was made even sweeter with his wife Xu Mengtao, who became the first skier in Olympic history to defend her gold in aerials on Wednesday, in attendance. The golden couple are one of several married couples to claim Olympic gold at the same Olympic Games.
Roth claimed silver a little over a point behind Xindi while Li Tianma (CHN) secured bronze with five twists of his own.
"I didn’t dare to dream about this," Wang said after his win. "We all have goals, but often, it’s just a goal. What’s more important is that you take every step well, and maybe one day, it will lead you to your target. The Olympics aren’t like the World Cups. Whether it’s preparation, or degree of difficulty, it’s so much higher. We can only try to show up on the day and be ourselves."
Roth opened the final with a bang after landing a Hurricane, American Jeret “Speedy” Peterson's trademark trick with one of the highest degrees of difficulty consisting of three flips and five twists, three of which are performed during the second flip. It's the first cleanly landed Hurricane since 2010, when Peterson landed the trick on his way to Olympic silver.
The reigning world champ scored 135.91 points, over four points ahead of compatriot Pirmin Werner, who had a 2nd-place finish in the final with five twists. Roth is the second skier after Dmytro Kotovskyi (UKR) to land the trick cleanly in competition so far. Werner made his own attempt at the Hurricane in the superfinal but crashed head over heels upon landing.
"It's crazy, everyone is pushing the sport so hard," Werner said. "It's nice that everyone is doing five twists in the super final."
Chinese skiers won four of six World Cup events this season, nabbing the top three spots in the final FIS World Cup rankings. There was never a question that a Chinese skier would make the Olympic podium. The only question was which one.
Prior to Roth's run, Wang, Li, and Sun Jiaxu (CHN) held the top three spots in prime position of a Chinese sweep. In a run reminiscent of Australia's Danielle Scott's during the women's aerials final, Roth scored just high enough to come in between the trio.
Defending Olympic champion Qi Guangpu (CHN) looked strong in the lead up to the superfinal; however, a crash landing on his five-twist attempt cost him a podium position. The 35-year-old, who announced that this would be his last Olympic Games, concludes his Olympic career with two Olympic medals, a gold in men's aerials and a silver in mixed team.
“That was my last jump," Qi said. "Five Olympics, it’s now time to say goodbye. What I’ve been waiting for is here. I can see young Chinese athletes coming behind me."
While all three Americans competing in this event advanced to the final, none of them advanced to the superfinal after struggling with their trick landings. Chris Lillis was the highest ranked American, finishing in 8th place, while Derek Krueger and Connor Curran placed 11th and 12th respectively.
Men's Aerialists Medalists
🥇Wang Xindi (CHN)
🥈Noe Roth (SUI)
🥉Li Tianma (CHN)