On February 20, Chinese freestyle skier Wang Xindi won a gold medal in the men's aerials event at the 2026 Winter Olympics. He defeated opponent Noe Roth (Switzerland) with a difference of 1.02 points in the "super final".
This is Wang's first Olympic gold medal in his career and also the 4th gold medal of the Chinese sports delegation at this year's Olympics. Previously, his best achievement at the Olympics was only 14th place in 2018 and 2022.
Wang's victory took place 2 days after his wife - Xu Mengtao, successfully defended the gold medal in the women's aerials event. With this result, they became one of the few couples to win individual gold medals at the same Winter Olympics. Xu Mengtao has participated in 5 Olympics and owns 2 gold medals (2022, 2026) and 1 silver medal (2014).
Chinese media also recalled details from the wedding of the two athletes a few years ago. At that time, Xu Mengtao told Mr. Song Kai (then the sports leader of Liaoning province) that she wanted to support her husband towards the goal of winning an Olympic gold medal. After Wang's victory, Mr. Song - currently Chairman of the Chinese Football Federation - sent congratulations to the two athletes.
In the super final, Wang performed the 3rd jump and achieved the highest score in the competition. Roth jumped last and achieved 131.58 points, not enough to surpass his Chinese opponent.
China dominated in force with 4 athletes in the top 6, in which Li Tianma won a bronze medal with 123.93 points, Sun Jiaxu ranked 4th, and defending champion Qi Guangpu ranked 6th due to a mistake in the final jump.
Wang said that he and Xu maintain professionalism during the competition. Both train according to their own plans, limiting interference in each other's expertise during the official competition period.
After the victory in the individual event, Wang and Xu are expected to continue to participate in the men's and women's team event on February 21, where China is considered the leading candidate for the gold medal.
