China "snow princess" Eileen Gu's dominant win in the halfpipe at the Beijing Olympics on Friday added to the country's best ever gold medal tally at a Winter Games, with freestyle skiing accounting for half of the host's podium-topping finishes.
With eight golds and 14 medals in all, China showed a huge improvement from four years ago in Pyeongchang, where they only took home one gold. Aided by Gu’s two wins, in Big Air and halfpipe, the country are level with the United States in third place for gold medals, with just days left in the Games.
"Seeing China's winter sports team break its record with so many medals and good performances, I feel very proud," Gu said after her halfpipe victory. "The most important thing is China has made so much progress in freestyle, and grown so much love for the sport, which is beautiful."
In addition to freestyle skiing and snowboarding, China won golds in speed skating, two short-track and one long-track.
It is not unusual for a host nation to do well at a Games but China are exceeding predictions. China's previous best Winter Games was in 2010, when they won five golds and 11 medals in total.
In short-track, a sport that has been the major source of China's Olympics glory since skater Yang Yang won their first Winter gold 20 years ago, China topped the podiums in the mixed relay and men’s 1000 metres.
The country made further progress in freestyle skiing, cementing their powerhouse status with golds in Big Air and men's and women's aerials singles, in addition to Friday's halfpipe win for Gu. Su Yiming made history with China’s first gold in any snowboarding event, winning in Big Air.
With two more days of competition left, China's best hope of adding to the medal tally are in men's speed skating and pairs figure skating.
China sent 176 athletes, their largest ever Winter Games contingent, to compete at the Beijing Olympics and will have taken part in 104 of 109 events, including 35 for the first time - such as in men’s ice hockey.
Neighbourhood Watch
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
While you're here
While you're here
Hussein Ibish: Could it be game over for Donald Trump?
Joyce Karam: Trump's campaign thrown off balance
Trump tests positive: everything we know so far
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
More from Neighbourhood Watch
You might also like
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
World Mental Health Day
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
On Women's Day
Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?
Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality
The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?
Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
SPEC%20SHEET
Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%20Vol%203
RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Alan%20Wake%20Remastered%20
UAE%20SQUAD
You might also like
While you're here
Sholto Byrnes: Here's how this century can still belong to Asia
Brahma Chellaney: South China Sea is Asean's Achilles heel
The National Editorial: Territorial disputes require a mediator
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
More from Con Coughlin
The specs
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
Kareem Shaheen on Canada
On Women's Day
Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action
Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality
The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?
Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Habtoor interview
While you're here
Hussein Ibish: There are reasons for Democrats and Republicans to be happy
Rashmee Roshan Lall: Who are the women driving Joe Biden's success?
The five pillars of Islam
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
