One of the best things about sports is the ever-present possibility of surprise when favorites are upset and underdogs rise to become new stars, and for cold weather combatants, no stage is bigger than the Winter Olympics. And on back-to-back evenings in South Korea, such drama was on full display in two events.

On Friday night at the Phoenix Snow Park in PyeongChang, it was the ladies’ freestyle skiing aerials, in which China’s Xu Mengtao, the silver medalist in the event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, was one of the favorites to top the podium. 

Also representing China and competing in her second Winter Games was Zhang Xin, while making her first appearance at the Olympics was Kong Fanyu. With China still searching for its first gold at these Games and it being the first day of the Chinese New Year holiday, the pressure could hardly have been higher for the trio.

The final consisted of three rounds, with three skiers being eliminated after each stage. All the three Chinese would safely make it into the second round of nine athletes in which Xu would attempt the most difficult jump of all. But her aggressive strategy did not pay off as she was unable to stick her landing and failed to reach the final round.

Zhang, on the other hand, had a fantastic jump and scored 94.11 points, the second highest of the round, with only her teammate Kong outdoing her with an even better score of 97.29 points. That meant Zhang and Kong would be the last two to go in the third and final stage that would determine the medals. Zhang was the penultimate competitor and nailed her last leap to score 95.52 points, good for second place and a guaranteed spot on the podium.

Kong would close the competition and despite a slightly rough landing, she scored 70.14 points to claim the bronze medal. It was an incredible night for China as the two aerialists won the third and fourth medals of the Games for their nation in spectacular style.

On Saturday night, it was time for the ladies’ 1500 meter short track speed skating. Zhou Yang, a three-time Olympic champion and two-time defending gold medalist in the event came in as one of the favorites to claim her third straight Olympic title in this race. But short track is one of the most unpredictable events in all of the Games as the racers zoom around a small oval shoulder to shoulder, which often results in collisions, crashes and unexpected results. 

Zhou lined up in the third semi-final alongside her fellow Chinese, 17-year-old Li Jinyu, a boyish girl and last-minute entry of the Chinese team. In a close contest, Zhou failed to  qualify for the final. 

Near the end of the race, Li was bumped by Great Britain’s Elise Christie, sending both crashing into the buffer wall. The judges reviewed the collision on video replay and ruled that Christie was at fault and advanced Li to the final. That meant the hopes of the nation were on Li’s slim shoulders, and she would not disappoint. 

With a late burst of speed, Li finished inches ahead of Canada’s Kim Boutin to finish second for the silver medal behind South Korea’s eventual winner Choi Minjeong. The incredible result made her the youngest Chinese medalist at the Winter Olympics.

Later, the budding star said she did not feel nervous before any of the races and simply tried her best. On this night, her personal best performance netted China its fifth medal at these Games and showed that the team selectors were right in taking a chance on the teenager.