China's dynamic duo soar into international spotlight

The rise of China's "dynamic duo" Cai Xuetong and Liu Jiayu is "huge" for the sport of snowboarding.

That's according to Danny Chi, director of communications for ESPN's X-Games, who watched the pair light up the women's superpipe event at the annual extreme sports extravaganza in Aspen on Saturday.

Cai bagged a bronze medal, while Liu finished fourth.

"They are not just China's dynamic duo, but double pioneers in the sport of snowboarding," Chi said.

"For China's next generation of boarders, to mimic and follow both of these riders is huge for the snowboarding world.

"We hope to have more young Chinese female competitors for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. China is getting stronger every day."

The 25-year-old Cai, a native of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, nailed her third and final run on Saturday night to pick up her third X-Games medal since 2016, followed closely by Olympic silver medalist Liu.

"I was surprised I finished third," said Cai, who admirably bounced back from a pair of spills to score big when it mattered most.

American Chloe Kim, of South Korean descent, won her fifth X-Games gold, with Spain's Queralt Castellet taking silver.

Kim won the women's halfpipe gold at last year's Pyeongchang Olympics, where Liu shot to fame by claiming silver.

"Winning gold might not be the best achievement; introducing a new move is what brings respect from other competitors," Chi said.

"The whole nature of the sport is about pioneering the next trick, doing something no one has done before."

Chi said Cai and Liu are role models, helping China gain international prowess in a relatively short time.

As China's first X-Games competitors, they made their Olympic debuts at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

"I must say these two women got really good, really quickly," said Chi, whose father is from Shanghai and his mother from Beijing.

"They train like Chinese national athletes - they are the first to show up at the pipe to practice, and the last to leave," Chi added, noting that snowboarding was not the first sport for either of them.

Liu, from Hegang, Heilongjiang province, switched from martial arts to snowboarding at age 11, while Cai's first sport was gymnastics.

X-Games China will debut with a summer event in May, followed by a winter competition later in the year.

Xinhua