Su Yiming after Beijing 2022 silver for China: "Nothing better than sharing the podium with my snowboard idols"
The People's Republic of China snowboarder spoke to Olympics.com after celebrating alongside Canadians Max Parrott and Mark McMorris in the men's snowboard slopestyle.
Snowboard
Yu Siming's silver medal in the men's snowboard slopestyle at Beijing 2022 on Monday (7 February) could hardly have been more memorable.
If claiming a medal for China in his home country at the age of 17 wasn't enough, sharing the podium with gold-medalist Max Parrott and bronze-medalist Mark McMorris, who Yiming refers to as his "idols" means it couldn't get much better.
This came thanks to a score of 88.70 in Chinese boarder's second run at the Genting Snow Park, 0.17 better than McMorris' best of the day.
Su Yiming enjoying the moment
"Wow, this means a lot, you know, it’s so special for me" Su Yiming told Olympics.com after claiming the silver medal. "That it’s in my hometown, every message from my supporters, everyone’s here, my fans came to support me. This feeling is just incredible. I’m happy I could ride my own style and get the silver.
"The most important thing is sharing the podium with my idols."
"Mark and Max were my idols when I started snowboarding, now I share a podium with them which is insane – there’s nothing better than that." - Su Yiming to Olympics.com
Yiming was understandably full of appreciation after his incredible moment: "Thank you guys so much, my country, my family, my friends, my support. Thank you guys so much. To have the flag on my back is the best feeling ever, ever."
The next generation for China
When asked about any advice he'd give to others, Yiming said: "For me, when I was young, I just looked up to my idols and tried to follow them, but the most important thing is to just have fun with snowboarding.
"This is the most important thing – it doesn’t matter about competitions, riding, or just filming, but snowboarding is one of my favourite things. It’s just having fun and going riding with your friends and you get better and better."
Su Yiming's medal celebration
It turns out that this is not only a special day for Yiming: "It’s my mum’s birthday and I think I’m going to call my mum first, you know. This silver is for her."
The 17-year-old will still afford himself some celebrations of his own, though: "I’m so happy and I’m going to chill with my friends, family and everyone."
When can I watch more of Su Yiming in Beijing 2022 competition?
The Chinese star is also taking part in the snowboard big air event, with the qualification runs coming on Monday 14 February at 13:30, 14:15 and 15:00 local time.
The final runs come the following day at 13:00, 13:22 and 13:45.