Gold medal-winning boarder Xu leaves rivals in her wake

The road from being an aerobic gymnast to a wakeboard champion is already pretty challenging, but even more so when you don't know how to swim.

But, China's Xu Lu did it.

The nation's star wakeboarder soared to victory in the women's freestyle event at the 2025 Chengdu World Games on Sunday, securing gold at the Sancha Lake International Aquatics Center.

"I didn't expect to win, but I gave it my all today," said the 21-year-old, who credited the ideal conditions — cool weather and calm waters — for her smooth performance.

Despite an earlier setback in the cable wakeboard event, where she missed out on a podium finish, Xu's freestyle triumph marked a career highlight.

Just days earlier, during the preliminaries on Friday, Xu had been starstruck after snapping a photo with Argentina's Eugenia De Armas, admitting she loved the 26-year-old's riding style. But, when it came to the finals, Xu outperformed her idol, with Italy's Alice Virag taking silver and De Armas settling for bronze.

As a child, Xu trained in aerobic gymnastics before being introduced to wakeboarding — a sudden transition that proved challenging for the 11-year-old at that time.

"I was afraid of the water at first, so my first lesson was simply learning to swim," she recalled.

"Gradually, I found the feeling of riding the board and flipping in the air incredibly freeing. Every time I successfully land a new trick, it gives me a huge sense of achievement," she said, adding that she truly fell in love with the niche water sport in 2019.