Chinese skier Gu Ailing Photo: VCG

As the 18-year-old Chinese skier Gu Ailing, also known as Eileen Gu, will debut on the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games on Monday, tens of thousands of fans are on the edge of their seats expecting to see their idol claiming yet another medal for Team China. 

With the inauguration of the Beijing Winter Games, a number of young, talented athletes like Gu have been put on the spotlight on various competitions.

Gu will go for the medals at the Women's Freeski Big Air, Women's Freeski Slopestyle and Women's Freeski Halfpipe skiing events at Beijing 2022 .

On Monday, Gu will debut at the Women's Freeski Big Air Qualification. 

One of Gu's strongest opponents is the Swiss Gremaud Mathilde who completed several moves with higher difficulties than Gu during training. The French Tess Ledeux, who ranked first worldwide at the event, is another of Gu's strong rivals for the gold. Her quadruple axel jump helped her win the world championship in January 2022.

Under her various social media accounts, Chinese netizens left encouraging messages expressing faith in the performances of the young athlete.

Praised by many as energetic, persevering, and talented, Gu has inspired countless people worldwide as she skied her way into the Olympics. 

Born in San Francisco to an American father and a Chinese mother, Gu claimed 50 golds on various events by the age of 14. After she joined Team China in 2019, the free skier won two golds and one bronze at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard and Freeski World Championships in 2021, making her the first Chinese athlete to win a world title in both the slopestyle and halfpipe, and also the first rookie to win a gold at such an international event.

Before heading for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Gu bagged a slew of medals, including six golds in nine competitions in merely 37 days after she recovered from the injuries she received on December 2, 2021. FIS Ski published a report saying that "she has done nothing but winning during this season." 

Netizens flooded to congratulate Gu for her incredible performance dubbing her the "champion reaper" and wishing her good luck at the Beijing Winter Games. 

Her light, airy and seemingly-effortless movements on the field and her confident, frank personality has won the heart of many people who have called her a "genius girl." However, as Gu said, she only has "0.1 percent of talent" and the rest lies in her passion for skiing. 

Gu will most likely be on the final of the Women's Freeski Halfpipe on February 18 as she has the highest chances of winning the event. She will have an unavoidable confrontation with two strong competitors, the 29-year-old Canadian, Cassie Sharpe, and 20-years-old Kelly Sildaru from Estonia.

Compared with the halfpipe event, Gu will face more challenges on women's slopestyle starting on Sunday. Her rivals will include Sildaru and the French, Ledeux.

Besides Gu Ailing, several other young athletes have also caught the eye of the audience, including Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming, who stormed Monday's final of the men's slopestyle as the best performer in the qualification rounds on Sunday, scoring 86.80 points in the first of his two runs, the top result among all 30 contestants. 

This is the first time a Chinese snowboarder has qualified for the slopestyle competition in the Winter Olympics. Now, the 17-year-old youngster is one of China's serious medal hopes at the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Amid loud cheers from spectators in the National Speed Skating Oval, the 22-year-old Ahenaer Adake, from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, grabbed the spotlight with her participation in the speed skating women's 3000m with a time of 4:12.28, currently ranking 17th. Ahenaer started her career in 2009 with short track speed skating in Xinjiang. Later, she was selected to the national team for her outstanding performance at the local games. In 2018 she switched to long track speed skating as her strength lies in her endurance. 

After her first appearance at Beijing 2022, netizens said on social media that "her appearance after taking off the mask was stunning. It was beautiful and courageous all in one."

Another rising star representing Team China in figure skating is the 19-year-old Olympic debutant Zhu Yi. However, she had a poor performance in the figure skating women's singles short program on Sunday as she fell early on in her routine and missed a triple loop, finishing last among 10 competitors with 47.03 points. 

While falling short on her very first event, netizens expressed sympathy and understanding for the girl, saying that she was under too much pressure. Zhu lived and studied in the US in her early years and stunned the public, as well as the US national team, as she claimed the title in the United States Figure Skating Championships in 2018. When both the US and China were racing to add her into their national teams, Zhu returned to China without hesitation.