In the women’s downhill obstacle technique finals of the Milan Winter Olympics, which ended on September, Mathilde Grémod, a Swiss champion, defeated Chinese Gu Ailing with a slight advantage of 0.38 points, securing the championship of the event.
During the race, when Grimaud jumped and rolled, two blood-red circular marks revealed on his back, attracting the attention of reporters.
After the match, the journalists asked Grimaud about the origin of the two marks, and she revealed that they were left by a can.
On February 9th, Swiss athlete Mathilde Grémod was in the competition. Photograph: Xinhua Press Reporter Zhang Hongxiang
“I fell during training yesterday, and the Swiss team‘s physiotherapist gave me a series of treatments. She loves using decanter therapy, so she decanted me last night. I think decanter therapy is very useful, and it always works for me,” Grimaud said.
At the many Summer Olympics, the can pull mark on many foreign swimmers has also attracted attention to the “mysterious power” of the East. Winter athletes generally wear thick snowsuits, and can pull marks are not common at the Winter Olympics.
In the match that day, Gu Ailing performed a set of moves in the first round that she thought had “broke my limits” and scored a high score of 86.58. Greymord, on the other hand, performed even better in the second round and scored 86.96 points, overtaking Gu Ailing to become champion.
“The level of today‘s competition was really ridiculously high. It was definitely the most spectacular match in the history of this project. I pulled off the best performance of my career. I‘m extremely proud of myself. This victory means a lot,” Grimaud said after the match.
Speaking of Gu Ailing‘s performance, she continued, “I know she skates better on slope obstacles than I do, and I‘m better at jumping platforms. This competition is indeed evenly matched. Her first round of skating was amazing, much better than mine. Fortunately, my performance in the second round was even better. But to be honest, if she had completed a more difficult movement on the first jump platform, I would have lost today for sure.”
Grémod became the first player in the history of the Winter Olympics to win a series of gold medals in this event. Speaking about what the difference between these two championships felt like, Grémod said: “The feeling of winning was both equally exciting, both were wonderful experiences. If there‘s a difference, it’s that this place is close to Switzerland, and there were many friends from home who came to cheer for me. I truly felt everyone‘s support, and this support also gave me full energy.”
On the 16th, Greymord will also continue to compete with Gu Ailing in the big jump stage event. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing won the gold medal in this event, while Greymord won the bronze medal.