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Chinese snowboarders show muscle before 2022 Winter Olympics
Zheng Yibing
00:52

Chinese ski and snowboard athletes are making headlines ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games with showstopping tricks on the slopes.

Gu Ailing, also known as Eileen Gu, on Sunday became the world's first female skier to complete a Freeski Double-Cork 1440 while training in Stubai, Austria.

Su Yiming, the 17-year-old Chinese snowboarder who filmed Gu's record-setting trick, pulled off an amazing stunt himself by completing the world's first Backslide 1980 Indy Crail on October 28 in Stubai.

Yang Wenlong, a Chinese snowboarder training in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, completed an ultra-difficult Backside Quad 1980 on October 27.

Though practice is not a real competition, it didn't keep their incredible performances from appearing on the radar of the International Ski Federation (FIS)

An FIS report titled "Will 2021/22 be the most progressive competition season ever?" highlighted the stunts of the two snowboarders and others.

It cited the new 1800 variations from the likes of Luke Winkelmann of the U.S., Sebastien Toutant of Canada and Mons Roisland of Norway.

It also showed Su's peer, 15-year-old Taiga Hasegawa of Japan, who became the first snowboarder ever to land the rotation all four ways – frontside, backside, cab and switch backside.

Another FIS report called Gu a "supremely confident 18-year-old" who should be capable of handling the pressure of the 2021/22 FIS Freeski World Cup and rising to the occasion.

The 2022 Winter Olympics are only about three months away and athletes from around the world are attempting new tricks. That will very likely make the World Cup season and the Winter Games more appealing.

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