Snowboarder Liu aiming to soar higher

China's snowboarding queen 'recharged' for new season

Sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

After a summer filled with mountain biking, kayaking and hiking, daredevil snowboarder Liu Jiayu has rediscovered her passion for stomping new tricks for the home team ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Liu's runner-up performance in halfpipe at this year's Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, made her a household name as the nation's first Olympic medalist in snowboarding, but it took such a heavy toll on her body and mind that the 26-year-old spent her offseason totally away from snow, opting instead for a regimen of outdoor recreation in New Zealand.

Liu said the change of scenery helped rekindle her motivation.

"My goal is to always enjoy the sport and ride as happily as I can," she said on Sunday at the Genting Resort Secret Garden, a Beijing 2022 venue, in the Chongli district of Zhangjiakou.

"Competing in Pyeongchang was so demanding that I felt like I didn't enjoy riding as much as I used to after the final run, so I took a long break, blocking myself out of any snow activity.

"Fortunately, after relaxing in the woods and on a lake during my long break, I started to miss the feeling of riding the slopes again. I feel recharged and regrouped. It's time to come back to rise to new challenges."

Liu's historic run in Pyeongchang, where she finished second to US teenager Chloe Kim, helped galvanize the booming popularity of snowboarding in China.

According to Genting resort, which will host snowboarding and freestyle skiing for the 2022 Games, more than 80 percent of its 2,500 customers on Saturday's opening day of the season were snowboarders.

Liu's appearance at the resort to announce her ambassadorial role with the property and to launch a youth training program under her name triggered a rousing response.

"I was impressed by the long lines piled up at the cable car station, but then I realized there were many more riders on top of the mountain when I made my first run, which was impressive," said Liu, who won the halfpipe at the 2009 world championships when she was just 16.

With snow-based sports taking off in China, she knows what it takes to inspire greater participation nationwide.

"I will try to execute more difficult tricks, especially backside spins, and try to improve my consistency performing the 1080 jumps to become more competitive," said Liu, who is among the very few female boarders capable of completing a three-full-spin trick.

Genting resort will provide an edge for Liu as she will make the facility, where the halfpipe course for the 2022 Games has already been built, one of her training bases.

"The course is really of the highest international standard and the equal of any facility abroad. It's so convenient that I don't need to travel too much so I can make my training more efficient," she said.

The Genting resort, which will be connected to Beijing by a 50-minute high-speed rail line next year, is set to host five International Ski Federation World Cup series events from December to March, including the halfpipe.

Benno Nager, the resort's chief operating officer, expects Liu's involvement, coupled with the exposure brought by the Cup series, to create new interest in the sport.

"Just a few years ago, snowboarding halfpipe wasn't very well known in China. But now, because of how Liu did at the Olympics, all of China knows about the discipline," said Nager.

"It takes people like her and opportunities to watch the world's best athletes perform up close to make the sport grow."

The Genting resort's ski and snowboard school, already boasting an internationally certificated team of 200 instructors, will invite Liu to teach and share her experiences at the Championship Winter Camp whenever her schedule permits.

"To work with an Olympian like Liu is a privilege for any resort," said Freddie Bacon, president of the school.

"We can't wait to start working with her to make this program special."