ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) -Chinese home favourite and teen snowboarder Su Yiming won silver at the Beijing Games men’s slopestyle final on Monday, cementing his celebrity status and thrilling fans in person and online.
At the packed Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, debutant Su landed an 1800, took silver with his highest score of 88.70 on the second run, and finished pumping his arms in the air.
Fans, some wearing red beanies and holding Chinese flags, gave the 17-year-old a standing ovation whenever he dropped into the Great Wall-inspired course and hugged each other as he landed jumps.
At the qualifiers, fans had clamoured for selfies and after Monday’s final run, venue staff had to make a human barricade while he took questions from the media.
“I really want to thank everyone who has taken care of me and cheered me on. The result is for each and every one of us,” he told reporters.
The boarder quickly rose to hit all top five trending topics on China’s Twitter-like Weibo. Followers soared to nearly half a million.
“I don’t care (you did not win gold), you are the champion in my eyes,” said one fan online.
(Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Andrew Cawthorne)
