Rising star

In a stunning debut at the Asian Winter Games, Chinese freeskier Li Xinpeng, who celebrated his 20th birthday just 10 days ago, captured two gold medals and one bronze over three days of fierce competition — delivering a performance that exceeded all expectations.

Competing in the freestyle aerials at the Games in Harbin, Li triumphed in the men's individual and the mixed team, and won bronze in men's synchro, a debut event at this year's Asiad. His performance, following his first World Cup podium appearance just last month, marks him as a rising star for China's aerials team, with expectations firmly on the rise for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.

"While I'm pleasantly surprised by my results, I was of course hoping for gold," Li said after placing third in the synchro event.

"This competition has been a valuable test of my training over the past few years — a key stepping stone before Milan. I'll continue to refine my performance and aim to approach the next challenge with full focus."

Born in 2005, Li started his athletic career on a trampoline at age 8, before transitioning to skiing three years later, training in Heilongjiang. Although he has spent limited time competing in aerials, Li has quickly gained recognition in the sport.

In February of last year, Li took gold in the men's individual youth event at the 14th National Winter Games, scoring 237.66 points.

On Jan 19, at the FIS Freestyle Aerials World Cup in Lake Placid in the United States, Li earned his first World Cup podium finish, taking bronze with a score of 118.10 points in the men's final. The next day, he joined forces with Beijing 2022 Olympic champion Xu Mengtao and Sun Jiaxu to win the mixed team event, further cementing his rising star status.

On the opening day of freestyle skiing aerials at the Asian Winter Games, in a full podium sweep for the home team, Li claimed the gold medal in the men's event. His teammate, 22-year-old Yang Longxiao, took silver, while 34-year-old veteran Qi Guangpu, the Beijing Olympic champion, earned bronze.