There were plenty of tears and smiles in the finish area of women’s aerials at Secret Garden in the Genting Snow Park on Valentine’s Day evening. Ironically, the tears were being shed by gold medalist Xu Mengtao. The beaming smile belonged to Park City’s Ashley Caldwell, who finished fourth. As the Chinese and American athletes embraced at the finish line, it seemed like for a minute the chaos of our world was set aside.
I’ll admit, I’m faithful to the Olympic ideal. I believe in the principles set forth in the Ancient Games and the vision of their rebirth with Baron Pierre de Coubertin. They are beliefs that can easily be cast aside in the wake of doping scandals, a pandemic and global politics. But when it comes down to athlete-to-athlete engagement on the field of play, the principles of good sportsmanship usually transcend the results.
The Chinese aerials team has been coming to our community for over two decades. For many years, they were the athletes off to the side in the finish area. There were barriers of language and, even more so, of culture. We imagined our own paradigms of what sport must be like in China and how its powerhouse team was developed. Since 2005, Chinese aerialists have taken 15 titles at Deer Valley.
In the new Olympic team aerials event where the Park City-based team of Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schonenfeld won gold, there was this air of expectation that it was China’s event to win. But when the final score came in, the Americans took gold and China had silver.
There was a look of deep, stunned sadness in the eyes of the three Chinese athletes. While hurting deep inside, all three quickly came over to the Americans to give them emotional hugs of congratulations. For a moment, the world stood still and the power of sport took center stage.
Over the years, as language and cultural barriers were overcome, the athletes became closer. Caldwell, a world champion who pushed women to new heights with her triple flips, became close to the English-speaking Xu. Their embrace in the finish area told the story of two athletes who were united in pushing their sport to new levels.
“Tao Tao’s been pushing triples longer than I have,” said Caldwell. “I respect her wholeheartedly. For her to win a gold medal in her home country … it brought tears to my eyes.”
Few Olympic events feature the level of risk as freestyle aerials, where for 3.5 seconds you are suspended in air with heavy boots and skis twisting violently through the air. Caldwell and Xu had led the push to triples for women, often suffering brutal impacts to their bodies.
“I respect what everyone does out here,” said Caldwell. “I know how hard this is. I face it every day. I respect every single person out here and how hard they’ve worked. Why shouldn’t I be excited about their success?”
As Caldwell and Xu embraced, it took me back to those Olympic ideals. My mind wandered to the fields of Ancient Olympia in Greece, where still today you can put your hands on the starting stones in the stadium. It reminded me of why Baron Pierre de Coubertin fought so hard to bring back the principles of the ancient Games.
It also took me back to the myriad stories of small-nation athletes who come to the Games with no hopes of winning a gold medal. But they cherish their participation as a source of personal and national pride.
At the end of my most successful Games where we won 21 ski and snowboard medals in Vancouver, I was in our Team USA office with the TV playing the USA-Canada women’s hockey medal game. In the office next door, our Canadian colleagues were cheering wildly as they won 2-0 to take gold. I remember thinking, “They’ll cherish this memory more than we would have.” It was OK to let that gold medal go.
For all the great strength China has shown in aerials, Xu Mengtao’s Olympic gold was the first. Together, Tao Tao and Ashley have pushed each other to amazing heights in their careers. Wasn’t it great that two friends could celebrate together.
That’s the Olympic spirit.
Wisconsin native Tom Kelly landed in Park City in 1988 (still working on becoming an official local). Inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2019, he is most known for his role as lead spokesperson for Olympic skiing and snowboarding for over 30 years until his retirement in 2018. This is his 52nd season on skis.