Snowboard
SU Yiming is on his way to becoming a household name at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
The 17-year-old Chinese snowboarder upstaged his hero Mark McMorris and reigning Olympic slopestyle champion Redmond Gerard to post the best score in qualification on Sunday (6 February).
Afterwards he told Reuters, "There is nothing to be nervous about. I did my best and enjoyed the event. I will focus more on my tricks tomorrow... and have fun."
A former child film star, Su decided to focus fully on snowboarding seven years ago when China was awarded the 2022 Games.
That decision has started to bear fruit in recent months with his first World Cup win coming in Big Air at Steamboat over a star-studded field in December.
Now he is in with a great chance of winning China's first Olympic snowboard title with their only previous medal coming courtesy of Liu Jiayu's silver behind Chloe Kim in the PyeongChang 2018 women's halfpipe.
Read on to find out more about the teenage sensation lighting up his home Games.
Su Yiming - Early life and child prodigy
Su was born in Jilin province which boasts a handful of mountain ranges, including the Changbai Mountains, and has produced a number of Chinese winter athletes.
With his parents already fans of snowboarding, Su had his first try when he was three years old and quickly became hooked.
At seven, he obtained his first sponsorship deal and his extraordinary skill attracted the attention of film directors to open up further opportunities.
In 2014, the film 'The Taking of Tiger Mountain' needed a young boy who could ski for several scenes. Su fitted the bill and he quickly became a child star appearing in several movies.
In the coming years, he successfully managed to combine snowboarding, filming and school studies.
Focus on Beijing 2022
When Beijing was awarded the right to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in 2015, Su decided to temporarily put his acting career on hold.
At the time he published a post on his Weibo account saying: “What determines our life is not our ability, but our choice."
In 2018, he was selected for the Chinese Snowboard slopestyle and Big Air team and improved further under the instruction of famous Japanese coach Sato Yasuhiro.
He won his first senior competition, the 2019 Chinese National Championships, topping the podium of the Big Air event to cement his spot in the team.
Pushing the boundaries of Chinese snowboarding
As the pioneer of the new generation of Chinese snowboarding, Su holds multiple national records and even achieved a world first in 2021.
In March 2020, he became the first Chinese to land a Backside Triple Cork 1620 Mute.
The following January, he became the first Chinese to complete a Cab 1800.
And in October in Stubai, Austria, he became the first snowboarder in the world to land a Backside 1980 Indy Crail in training which saw him recognised by the Guinness World Records.
Two months later, he became the Chinese to win a men's World Cup Big Air snowboard competition at Steamboat.
He has also achieved consistent results on the World Cup circuit with regular top-10 finishes.
Su Yiming's outstanding Olympic debut
In movie terms, Su’s Olympic debut was a blockbuster.
A fabulous first run earned him a score of 86.80 to secure his place in the final as the number one qualifier.
Su made a mistake and, while that mattered not, he reflected, "When I overcome difficulties, I feel particularly successful and happy, I quite enjoy this feeling."
Canadian snowboard legend McMorris, who took second in qualifying, said, "I've actually known Su for a quite a long time, like when he was this big," as he pointed to his waist.
"He got into it at a very young age and he's progressed so much over the last couple of years. It's cool to see him rise to the occasion."
The teenager turns 18 on 18 February, and he could earn himself the best possible early birthday present in Monday's slopestyle final.
Su Yiming schedule at Beijing 2022
Monday 7 February
Su Yiming is the top qualifier for the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Final which starts at 12:00 Beijing time.
Monday 14 February
Su Yiming will take part in Men's Snowboard Big Air Qualification at 13:30 local time.
Tuesday 15 February
Should Su make it through qualification, he will compete in the Men's Snowboard Big Air Final which starts at 13:00 local time.
MORE: Full schedule of Beijing 2022 competition in all sports, including changes to competition start times, can be found here.