For most 22-year-olds, a birthday means cake and candles. For Su Yiming, it meant Olympic gold.
Additionally, amid Chinese New Year celebrations — a time traditionally associated with renewal and good fortune — the young snowboarder delivered a gift not just to himself, but to an entire nation. In the men’s slopestyle final at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Su captured Team China’s first gold medal of the Games.
It was history wrapped in symbolism: a birthday, a new lunar year, and a long-awaited breakthrough — all converging on one snow-covered course in Italy.
Su, who had already secured a bronze in big air earlier in the Games, wasted no time making his mark. On his very first run, he executed a string of technically demanding tricks across rails and ramps, posting 82.41 points — a score that held firm against a stacked international field.
At just 22, he added another chapter to a career that began with Olympic glory at Beijing 2022. But this win felt different.
It was Team China’s first gold in Italy after near-misses in snowboarding, freestyle skiing and short-track speed skating. The pressure had been building.
And Su knew it.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the shoulders for sure, trying to get this gold for Team China. That’s what I’ve been thinking for so many days after the big air,” Su, who won his career-first Olympic gold in big air at Beijing 2022, said after Wednesday’s final.
“I’m so lucky to finally get this done on my neck. That means so much. Putting this medal on my neck, it’s so heavy, you know?
“I almost forgot the feeling from four years ago. To be able to get one more today, it means everything to me.
“I’ve been talking about this goal, this moment, for so long. I so appreciate it. To be able to represent Team China on this biggest stage [and] to achieve my goal. I feel so grateful to everybody, my family, my coach, everybody here to support me.
“This won’t happen without you guys,” he added.
At Livigno Snow Park, beneath a clear Italian sky, Su stood on the podium as the Chinese national anthem played. He sang through tears as the red flag climbed skyward — a scene that resonated far beyond the mountains.
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Back home, millions were still in the midst of Lunar New Year festivities. In many households, the symbolism was impossible to ignore: a young athlete entering a new year of life by lifting the country’s first gold of the Games.
In the crowd, Chinese supporters waved banners and photos, their cheers cutting through the alpine air. It was his second Winter Olympics — but this was a different kind of coming-of-age.
From teenage prodigy in Beijing to standard-bearer in Italy, Su’s journey mirrors the evolution of winter sports in China itself.
For Su, though, the win was bigger than podiums and points.
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“What’s more important is we’re going to show the love to the world. Snowboarding is not just about competing. We’re out here for fun, we’re out here for the sports.”
On a day that marked both personal and cultural renewal, his words carried weight.
At 22, Su Yiming didn’t just celebrate another year older. He stepped into it with gold around his neck — and with a nation celebrating alongside him.
A birthday candle may flicker out.
But this kind of New Year glow lingers.
