Chinese Winter Olympians after Pyeongchang

Looking ahead: Liu Jiayu and Xu Mengtao

Liu Jiayu snatched the silver medal in the women’s snowboard halfpipe for China and became the first Chinese snowboard Olympic medalist in Pyeongchang.

Although she won the world championships at the age of 17, her journey to the Olympic podium had been bumpy due to her arm injuries.

Liu, who competed in three Olympics, was finally rewarded for her hard work.

Without much public exposure, Liu recalled her past four years and thought about future plans during the past month.

“Snowboarding is my interest, and I will definitely keep going,” she said. Her next goal is the Beijing Winter Olympics four years later, and the 25-year-old athlete is looking to promote her sport among young people in China. Since the Games, she has already attended a variety of activities related to winter sports promotion and business.

Chinese ski jumper Xu Mengtao, the silver medalist in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, fell on her second jump and was eliminated during the women's freestyle skiing aerial finals in Pyeongchang. Xu had surgery after the Games and is looking ahead to recovery and future challenges.