The long awaited Winter Olympic Games, set in Milan, Italy, began February 6th and granted viewers all around the globe a chance to witness Asian excellence in action. This year’s Olympic games made history as the first Winter Olympics to have not just one, but three All-Asian podiums.
To kick it off, the leaderboard for the men’s snowboarding big air competition on February 5th, in which athletes competed in the qualifying rounds where riders took 3 jumps and the best two scores determined who advanced to the final, reflected strong Asian dominance. Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara sat in first place going into the finals. In the end, China’s Su Yiming, a reigning Olympic champion, took bronze in the final with Japan’s Ryoma Kimata and Kira Kimura taking the silver and gold positions.
Next, highlighting strong visibility and growing impact of Asian athletes on the Olympic stage, the women’s halfpipe began on February 11th where we anticipated the return of two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim, to come back for her third Games with Team USA. Several competitors fell or crashed during the finals, making the competition tighter and more unpredictable. Japan’s Mitsuki Ono took bronze, Chloe Kim took Silver even though it was her first competition of the season, ending with South Korea’s first ever gold medal in halfpipe by Choi Ga-on.
And to top it all off, we finished with the women’s single free skate on February 19th where history was made for not only the U.S. but the entire Asian American community. This competition featured our very own UCLA Bruin, Alysa Liu, who made a victorious comeback after retiring from skating after her first Olympic Games. In the women’s free skate, Alysa Liu gave one final performance where she demonstrated precision and joy that captured the world’s attention, establishing her as the women’s free skate Olympic champion. Three time Olympian Kaori Sakamoto from Japan followed Liu in silver and Japan’s Ami Nakai finished off the podium with bronze.
As the games wrap up in Milan, these historic achievements highlight a growing impact of Asian and Asian American athletes in the Winter Olympics, setting the stage for a more diverse and inclusive Olympic future.
Visual Credit: Manek Pinikwik (Pexels)
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