Stellar freeski lineup promises sensational show on snow

With high-flying tricks to flaunt and hair-raising bumps to clear, the world's top freestyle skiers have had their four-year preparations peak at the right time to redefine velocity, creativity and courage at Beijing 2022.

Dubbed a "circus on the snow", freestyle skiing is one of the most entertaining sports to watch at the Olympics. Events comprise twists, flips and jumps as skiers compete on slopes, pipes, bumps and rails－against each other and gravity－to score points with the judges or finish as fast as possible.

The freestyle skiing program at the Beijing Winter Olympics features 13 events, including the newly added men's and women's Big Air as well as mixed team aerials, which will be contested at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province and Shougang Park in western downtown Beijing from Feb 3-19.

Leading the star-studded field are the host's all-around skier Gu Ailing and men's two-time Olympic champion David Wise of the United States, who have emerged as hot favorites for gold in halfpipe, which involves athletes performing spinning tricks after launching themselves skyward off a semicircular ramp. Judges score performances based on trick execution, variety, amplitude and creativity.

Gu, an 18-year-old California-born star, is aiming for history of her own as she targets medals from not just her strongest discipline, halfpipe, but also slopestyle and Big Air. She decided to represent China, her mother's native country, in 2019. Gu has stayed unbeaten in halfpipe after winning all four World Cup legs and boasts medal prowess in the other two disciplines.

On the men's side, reigning Olympic champion Wise will face tough challenges－from his compatriot and two-time world champion Aaron Blunck and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist Nico Porteous of New Zealand－as he aims for a historic three-peat at the Games.

In-flight entertainment

As one of seven new medal events added to the Olympic program in Beijing, the aerials mixed team event will be a battle between the host squad, led by 27-time World Cup winner Xu Mengtao, and the Russian Olympic Committee team, another traditional power which won the team event at the 2021 world championships. Teams from Switzerland and the US are also expected to vie for medals.

In this discipline, a team consisting of three skiers－with at least one male and one female－will each attempt one trick off the jump. The three scores are then combined for a total to determine the winner.

Bumpy ride

As the oldest freeski medal event at the Olympics, moguls at Beijing 2022 will be about two accomplished names－Canada's six-time world champion Mikael Kingsbury and two-time overall season winner Perrine Laffont of France. Both are strongly fancied to retain their men's and women's titles respectively.

After collecting a record 70 World Cup wins, Kingsbury has returned to form after a training crash in December 2020 that resulted in two fractured vertebrae. He could come under pressure from the likes of Japan's Ikuma Horishima in the discipline, which takes place on a steep downhill course consisting of bumps and jumps.

On the women's side, Laffont is braced for a strong challenge from this season's overall World Cup leader Anri Kawamura of Japan and third-place skier Jakara Anthony of Australia. Team USA's Hannah Soar and Jaelin Kauf are also expected to be in the mix for medals at Genting Snow Park.

In slopestyle, contested over a course of ramps and rails, the competition appears to be wide open. Swiss star Andri Ragettli, who owns the most World Cup overall season titles, and 2019 world champion James Woods of Britain are among the favorites in the men's section, while Estonian skier Kelly Sildaru, who has stayed unbeaten this season, defending Olympic champion Sarah Hoefflin of Switzerland and the versatile Gu light up the women's field.

In ski cross, the only timed freestyle discipline, two-time world champion Sandra Naslund of Sweden is a favorite for women's gold, while reigning world champion Alex Fiva of Switzerland and French skier Francois Place are expected to provide tough opposition for Canada's defending champion Brady Leman.