A French connection
China's golden freestyle skiing couple aims to repeat their double delight in 2030
Even with their names already enshrined in the sport's history together, China's golden couple Xu Mengtao and Wang Xindi have refused to rest on their laurels.
Fresh from becoming the sport's first couple to respectively win individual Olympic gold at the same Games — and in the same discipline — in Italy, Xu and Wang have already set their sights on repeating their double delight in freestyle aerials in the French Alps in 2030, despite facing stern challenges from maturing international competitors and the risky discipline's unpredictable nature.
"Our shared plan is to keep going," Xu told the audience during a recent open lecture at Beijing Sport University.
"Our target is clear: the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. Olympic glory is not the finish line, it is a fresh start for our ongoing journey," Xu said, her voice steady and resolute.
Xu and Wang, both alumni of BSU, shared their arduous gold-winning journey at Milano-Cortina 2026 with hundreds of students as part of the university's "Face-to-Face with Olympic Champions" lecture series on Thursday.
The 35-year-old Xu, a five-time Olympian, and Wang, who's five years Xu's junior, detailed years of injury struggles, sacrifice and mutual support that carried them to the pinnacle of their sport in Livigno, Italy, where Xu became the world's first skier to successfully defend an aerials Olympic title and Wang achieved his own breakthrough by winning a first Olympic gold on his third attempt.
The couple's decision to extend their competitive careers, despite the wear and tear of another four years, stems from their mutual inspiration and company on and off the snow.
"We train together, review runs together and lift each other up through every setback," said Wang, who always describes his wife as not just his role model as the sport's most dominant female athlete, but also as his fiercest cheerleader.
"To try to defend the Olympic title alone is hard, while doing it together makes it more meaningful. That's why we are so motivated to set such a tall task as our target for the next Olympic cycle so early."
That strong bond has seen them overcome their respective struggles to meet at the top of their sport in Italy, and is, naturally, expected to fuel their ambition for an encore in France.
Their love story started to build in 2007, when Wang, a junior gymnast at 12, joined the freestyle skiing program as a cross-sport talent.
The two young teammates spent almost the next two decades together, building a camaraderie that, back then, neither could have imagined would blossom into a romantic relationship.
It was during arguably the darkest period of Xu's career, after she injured her knees in a false final-run landing that cost her potentially a first Olympic title at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, when Wang stepped forward to offer support and care beyond that of just a teammate.
He accompanied her to rehabilitation sessions, where Xu had to learn how to walk again following surgeries on both knees, helped her analyze training footage after she recovered and listened when she vented her frustrations.
It was Wang's patience, composure and analytical thinking, coming from more setbacks of his own than Xu's in their early careers, that carried his wife out of self-doubt.
A mutual affection started to build quietly through understanding the unique physical and mental challenges of their sport, leading to a romance that they proudly shared with fans in a joint social media message posted a day after the conclusion of the Beijing Winter Games, where Xu's victory on home snow overshadowed Wang's second-straight early Olympic exit.
"For a long while in my career, failure seemed the main theme, and, because of that, I've learned to accept my imperfections," Wang confessed.
"And that has pushed me to be someone who thinks in the long-term, who trusts the process and always focuses on the next step."
Finally, after having tested their respective form with flying colors at multiple World Cup events, they peaked at the right time, one after another, at the Italian Alps resort in Livigno.
A more relaxed and more focused competitor on high-stakes occasions, Xu attributed her near-perfect performance in the women's final to her mind — as steely strong as the screw pinned into her left knee as result of her 2018 surgery.
Entering the Feb 18 final in second place, she needed a flawless run to secure back-to-back gold.
She launched into her signature triple back flip with three twists, soaring high into the clear sky. Her body rotated cleanly, landing stably and precisely, and the judges rewarded her with a winning score of 112.90 points.
"I felt every muscle, every breath and every heartbeat in that moment," Xu recalled during the lecture.
"After four years of training, injuries and doubts, I knew I had given everything. When the score came up, I didn't just celebrate a win. I celebrated the girl who refused to quit."
What made her victory even more emotional was that, two days later, Wang claimed his own first Olympic gold in the men's individual final, where he also delivered the performance of his life to fend off strong competition from Switzerland's two-time world champion Noe Roth.
Now, with the new four-year Olympic cycle kicking in, Xu and Wang said the itch for more glory has grown in them again.
"When is the moment that I feel most proud?" Xu replied to a student's question. "I'd say right now, because I am still on the road. And I will be on that road with him, all the way to France."
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