Japan is unstoppable! They clinched another gold at 3 a.m., climbing back to third place in the Winter Olympics medal standings, leaving China behind.

On February 10th Beijing time, the third day of the Milan Winter Olympics ended. Around 3 a.m., Japan showcased dominance by capturing the gold in the women's snowboard big air event. This changed the medal rankings significantly. With their second gold of the Games, Japan surged back into the top three, trailing only Norway and Switzerland, each with three gold medals. Additionally, Japan has distanced itself far ahead of China, which remains with zero golds and currently ranks 12th.

Japan has come into this competition with great momentum, winning a gold medal on the very first day and briefly taking the lead in the medal standings. On the second day, they won no golds and dropped to fourth place behind Norway, the USA, and Italy. On the third day, Japan had another golden opportunity in the women's snowboard big air event, which tests athletes on difficulty, execution quality, psychological resilience, and performance under pressure. The final took place at Livigno Snow Park with 12 competitors battling for the gold. Japan exploded with four athletes reaching the final aiming for the championship, while China’s Zhang Xiaonan also qualified for the final, striving for a strong finish. According to the rules, this event consists of three rounds, with the final ranking determined by the sum of the best two scores.

After three rounds of competition, Japanese athlete Kokona Murase delivered two flawless runs, especially excelling in the third round with the highest difficulty and most spectacular performance. She achieved a combined top score of 179.00, winning gold by over six points ahead of the second-place competitor from New Zealand, dominating the event. The bronze went to a South Korean athlete. Although China’s 19-year-old Zhang Xiaonan lacked the technical strength, she gave her all and completed the competition, finishing fifth with a total of 144.50 points. Unfortunately, she was unable to surpass China’s best result in this event.

It must be said that Japan has established overwhelming dominance in the snowboard big air event, sweeping both the men’s and women’s gold medals and forming a strong group advantage. With a total of 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 3 bronzes across three days—7 medals in all—Japan has pulled far ahead of China in the medal standings, widening the gap significantly. We eagerly await when China will win its first gold; let’s watch and see!

Written by / Sports Novel