Kong Fanying of China competes in the women's downhill race at Beijing 2022 in Yanqing, Beijing, China, February 15, 2022. /CFP
Alpine skiing is one of the most riveting disciplines of the Winter Olympics, but Team China supporters haven't had a lot to cheer. When the world's finest alpine skiers strut their stuff in Beijing, the journey of Chinese stragglers, who face long odds on even finishing a race, is a mere footnote among global headlines.
But a bright spark for the home country's fledgling ski squad is Kong Fanying, whose calming presence and consistency have shone through over the past two weeks.
The 25-year-old from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province is one of the rare skiers in this competition to have raced in four individual events – downhill, super-G, slalom and giant slalom.
Kong Fanying of China concludes her run in the women's downhill event of alpine skiing at Beijing 2022 in Yanqing, Beijing, China, February 15, 2022. /CFP
And if everything goes to plan, she will also participate in Thursday's combined event and Saturday's mixed team event, which would make her only the second woman in history to enter six alpine skiing events at a single Olympics.
Petra Vlhova accomplished the feat at PyeongChang 2018, but the Slovakian star had to cut short her Beijing 2022 campaign due to a flare-up of an ankle injury. She pulled out after bagging her first Olympic gold medal in the slalom.
Kong isn't just making up the numbers at the Olympics. In Beijing, she managed a respectable 40th-place finish in the giant slalom, bettering her 55th place in PyeongChang and achieving the best result by a Chinese in the last four Winter Games.
Kong Fanying of China celebrates after her run in the women's downhill at Beijing 2022 in Yanqing, Beijing, China, February 15, 2022. /CFP
In Tuesday's fiercely competitive downhill, she braved windy conditions and frigid temperatures to deliver a smooth, clean run at the National Alpine Ski Center, covering the treacherous course in 1 minute 44.53 seconds, more than 12 seconds behind the gold medalist, Corinne Suter of Switzerland.
Several skiers crashed out early, but Kong became the first ever Chinese female skier to finish the event at the Olympics with a display of courage and endurance.
She was all smiles after etching her name in the history books, though giddy on account of Yanqing's thin mountain air and the rarefied atmosphere of the Olympics.
"I think I was amazing. I can't believe I actually managed to finish the race in one piece," she beamed. "I gave it my all, and the result proved that my four years of hard work had not gone in vain. As the only Chinese female athlete to compete in this event, I'm very proud, and my efforts paid off."
(Reporting from the Yanqing competition zone)