A flying start? China’s rise in aerials part of effort to improve Winter Olympic program

China on the rise in aerials

When Peter Judge agreed to help China with its fledgling aerials program seven years ago, he expected to walk into a training operation that looked like a scene straight out of “Rocky IV.”

The part with Drago, not the part with Rocky.

“I had this perception they were this sophisticated sports machine,” Judge said.

Hardly.

There was no weight training facility. The rehabilitation program was nonexistent. Athletes spent six days a week jumping, then going for a run on their “off” day.

“They were unbelievable classic overtrainers,” Judge said. “I found it astounding … and they were wondering why all their athletes were getting injured and blown up.”

Seven years later, things are different, very different.

Judge eventually handed the program over to fellow Canadian Dustin Wilson, and their influence has helped mold the Chinese into a burgeoning Winter Olympics power.

“We have obviously unleashed a Pandora’s box,” Wilson said.

Now, the country that didn’t even collect its first Winter Olympics medal until 1992 is inching closer to traditional winter powers such as Norway and Germany.

China, which won 11 medals in Turin, Italy, four years ago, easily could surpass that total next month in Vancouver. A significant number could come in aerials — think of it as gymnastics on skis — thanks to a revamped training program Wilson calls one of the best on the planet.

With about a month to go, the top four women in the World Cup standings are Chinese. So are five of the top seven men. That’s partly because two key, early season events were held on a home mountain in China. But a bigger part of it is the talent and the training.

China’s roster includes the defending Olympic men’s champion — Han Xiaopeng — and 19-year-old female Xu Mengtao, a former gymnast Wilson says “will change the sport.”

The genesis of China’s rise started early in the last decade, part of an effort by the Chinese Olympic Committee to replicate the success of its Summer Olympic program, which was beefed up in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They went out and hired western coaches, studied the way other countries trained and traveled to events across the globe hoping to glean some insight on how to work their way onto the medal stand with regularity.

Once hired, Wilson and Judge found no lack of talent or volunteers. What they did lack were athletes who could stay healthy. A skier would suffer a devastating injury and that was it.

“If someone had a knee injury, they retired, there was no coming back,” Wilson said.

Not anymore. The increased focus on proper training techniques and rehabilitation programs are extending the careers of China’s top talent.

Consider what’s happened to Han. He became an instant celebrity in his home country with his Turin victory four years ago. A knee injury has slowed him down, but the 26-year-old still has a legitimate chance to defend his gold medal at Cypress Mountain.

That wouldn’t have happened a few years ago, when Han likely would have been replaced before his skis were even off.

“They’ve got an endless supply of money and endless supply of bodies, and that’s a pretty good thing to have in any sport,” said U.S. aerials coach Matt Christensen.

Now, China has the training techniques to match its ambition.

The Chinese team arrived in Alberta, Canada, for a World Cup event in Calgary this weekend with an entourage of 29 people, including 12 skiers, four coaches and a training staff.

Although many countries are just now reaching the peak of their Olympic prep, China has been going at it for two months. Wilson sent the team to Mongolia in early November to start working out on the snow, a two-week head start over everyone else.

While other teams worked out together, sharing facilities, China had the ramp all to itself. The U.S. team, meanwhile, didn’t get on the slopes until Nov. 23.

“That’s what we’re competing against,” Christensen said. “We can’t get over there to train.”

The snow might be the least of the rest of the world’s problem. Wilson said there are 50-60 athletes in the developmental program who are jumping year-round.

A handful of athletes on the national team, including Xu, are products of the developmental program. She was “retired” from the gymnastics program at 11 before making the natural move to aerials.

“In China, there are 100,000 gymnasts like her,” Wilson said. “She was top 50 but wasn’t good enough. Now she’s with us, and her talent is unbelievable. Her work ethic is unbelievable.”

Xu became the first woman to land a “lay double-full full” — three flips and three spins — in competition, completing the trick at a World Cup event in China last month. Yet she’s just one potential gold medalist on the Chinese roster. Wilson doesn’t even consider her the favorite, giving that honor to Li Nina.

“We’re much stronger than we were four years ago,” he said. “We’ve got three girls that can win it. If we have the best day, it’s going to be close.”

And it could just be the start of China’s dominance. It will be difficult for other countries to keep pace if the Chinese aerial program really takes off.

“If we had more money and resources and recruited like they do out of gymnastics, we could be competitive down the road,” Christensen said. “It’s a big buck to ask. Nobody really wants to do it. Nobody puts forth money to do it.”

Wilson agrees.

“These kids have an advantage over every other nation,” he said. “They’re young. They’re hungry, and now at the top end they have the expertise to manage them.”

And the expectations to match.

Four years ago, Wilson admitted Han was “lucky” to win China’s first freestyle skiing gold medal. Now, one gold medal might not be enough. China earned 11 medals in Turin, its best-ever Winter Olympics performance. A solid performance in aerials should help increase that number in Vancouver.

“The Chinese Olympic Committee, they want to repeat,” Wilson said. “It’s always easier the first time because there isn’t the pressure and it’ll be great if you do and it’ll be a big party. Now, if you don’t win it, the repercussions will be a little bit different.”

Asked if they feel a bit conflicted for helping the Chinese team find its way, especially as their native country hopes to make a huge splash on its home turf, Judge and Wilson just shrug.

“The German and Middle European stranglehold on traditional sports is going to have a dike effect, and they’re going to be able to hold the water back for awhile,” Judge said. “It’s only a matter of time before that starts to change.”

AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.