(China Sports) China's first snowboard Olympic medalist hopes to inspire youngsters

By Sportswriter Ji Ye

PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Liu Jiayu, China's first snowboard Olympic medalist on halfpipe, hopes that her achievement can inspire more Chinese youngsters to go in for the sport.

Not deciding whether to attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the 25-year-old is looking to promote her sport among young people in China after snatching her country's first-ever snowboard Olympic medal, a silver of women's halfpipe, in the 2018 Games in PyeongChang here on Tuesday.

"I'm not sure about Beijing 2022," she told Xinhua. "It's four years to go and I haven't thought about it yet. What I want to do now is to encourage more people, especially youngsters into the sport."

Liu, who competed in three Olympics, earned 89.75 points in her second run of three to take China's first medal in PyeongChang.

"For Chinese people having someone on the Olympic podium is a great honor. Snowboard halfpipe doesn't have a long history in China but is growing fast. Hopefully my breakthrough will arouse more people's interest.

"It's a cool, fashion sport. I really hope to see more Chinese like it, get addicted to it. I believe if they try, they'll love it," she said.

Liu started her professional training in 2003, the year when Chinese took up the sport. Although she won the world championships at the age of 17, her way to the Olympic podium has been bumpy.

As the reigning World Cup and world champion, Liu had to settle for fourth place at the 2010 Winter Olympics, recovering from an arm injury incurred one month before going to Vancouver.

She was injured again in training and had received two surgeries before the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, where she finished ninth.

"It's my third Olympics. The sport has changed my life. It teaches me to be optimistic. Compared to the last two Games, I come here more relaxed, just to enjoy the competition, to enjoy every day and to do my best," said the 2017 Asian Winter Games champion.

"I'm really proud to be there on the podium. I give full marks to my performance today. I want to set a good example for young athletes," she added.

Liu became the second Asian woman to win a snowboard medal at Olympics, after Japanese Tomoka Takeuchi won silver in the women's parallel giant slalom at Sochi in 2014.

Snowboard has thus become the sixth sport where China has won a medal at the Winter Games, after short track speed skating, freestyle skiing, speed skating, figure skating and curling. Enditem