Defending champion Su delivered under pressure to make big air final

The scaffolding monster slope at Livigno lived up to its reputation on Thursday by giving China's snowboarding superstar Su Yiming quite a scare on his gold-defending campaign at the Milano-Cortina 2026.

The 21-year-old reigning Olympic champion in big air had to dig harder than expected in Thursday's qualification session after he failed to stomp his first run as cleanly as needed, scoring only 22 points taking off a steep slope built temporarily at the Livigno Snow Park for the Games, which left him no choice but going all out in his remaining two runs to clinch a final berth.

He delivered, again at a high-stakes moment, by landing two solid runs to score a total of 172.75 points and squeeze into the top-12 final to be held on Saturday night in the Italian Alps ski town.

Apparently nervous on top of the slope before his third and final run, Su let it all out by shouting and fist-pumping after landing a neat trick of switch backside 1980 mellow on tough conditions to seize the chance of defending his gold medal won on home snow at Beijing 2022.

Unlike the permanent slope used in Beijing, the conditions of the snow ramp built on scaffolding in Livigno, which is steep, narrow and 50 meters tall, can be inconsistent on different days, making it a challenge for even the world's best to tame.

Canadian star rider Mark McMorris, a three-time Olympic medalist, had to withdraw from Thursday's qualifier after a hard crash while landing a jump off the ramp during a practice run on Wednesday, which resulted in a brief trip to the hospital.

Among all the 30 athletes signing up with the qualifier, 20 of them had crashed on landing in at least one of their three runs, and that included China's two other riders Ge Chunyu and Yang Wenlong, who both failed to qualify for the final.

The high-flying discipline of big air involves snowboarders, or freeskiers, hurtling down a giant slope, taking off and performing aerials tricks, as hard as five or more spins. A clean and safe landing is the key to score high.

Leading Thursday's qualifier ranking was Japan's Hiroto Ogiwara, followed by local favorite Ian Matteoli of Italy at second and Ogiwara's compatriot Kira Kimura at third, who are all expected to challenge Su's title defense on Saturday.

"I have to admit it that the first run tonight was so stressful, carrying the aura (as the defending champion)," Su said after securing his final berth.

"I've always tried to tell myself to just relax and not overthinking, but (the pressure) remained there in your subconscious.

"I felt like I could control my legs during the first run, which obviously wasn't quite a difficult one for me.

"Before the second run, I told myself to start it all over again like I'd already lost everything. I had to give it all and earn myself a chance to fight for it. I had my back against the wall and I didn't want to leave any regret.

"I am so happy that eventually I was able to deliver under pressure and withstand the challenge," said Su, who entered the Milano-Cortina Games as the top rider on the Olympic qualifying ranking.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn