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Freestyle skiing aerials became an official Winter Olympic event at Lillehammer back in 1994. Four years later, at Nagano, China won a medal in this discipline. Remarkably, it was China's first ever Olympic medal in any snow event. Our reporter, Yu Li, speaks to the recipient who explains her journey into the unknown.

A dark horse at the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998. By claiming silver in the women's freestyle skiing aerial, Xu Nannan claimed China's first ever medal in a snow event. She said the few months just ahead of the Games were crucial.

XU NANNAN Silver Medalist, Freestyle Skiing Aerials, Nagano Winter Olympics 1998 "Before the Nagano Games, the Chinese team was a relatively young team, both in terms of competition experience and knowledge of this event. Even the venues were not very standard when preparing for the competition. It was only in the year before the Games that we began to participate in World Cup events. That year's competitions greatly improved us, and only then did we have an understanding of competition standards and foreign athletes. Now, China is much more familiar with skiing aerial skills, both in terms of moves with a high difficulty rating, and competition experience. The Chinese team can now even get involved in discussions on the angle of the platform."

Xu said it's very important for teams to be able to have their say on this.

XU NANNAN Silver Medalist, Freestyle Skiing Aerials, Nagano Winter Olympics 1998 "A slight difference in angles on the platform can affect athletes in different ways. A difference of even one degree or two can greatly interfere with the athletes' take-off and other movements. In 2006, when we claimed a gold medal, the Chinese team were allowed to negotiate on the angle."

Looking ahead, Xu says she has mixed emotions ahead of a Winter Olympics on home snow. For the Games, she will take up a position as an auxiliary referee, which is a new experience for her. Meanwhile, she's also looking forward to seeing how today's Chinese athletes perform.

XU NANNAN Silver Medalist, Freestyle Skiing Aerials, Nagano Winter Olympics 1998 "I feel more nervous than when I was an athlete in the Games. I think the Chinese team has a great chance to hit the gold medal in freestyle skiing aerials. To have the chance to witness the process on-site is very exciting and nervous."

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