Gu, Su to drive new frenzy in winter sports

The stellar performances of China's freestyle skier Gu Ailing and snowboarder Su Yiming at the Beijing Winter Olympics are likely to spark frenzied interest in winter sports across the country, experts said.

However, long-term expansion of the popularity of winter sports in China will require more than "a one-off bullet" if sustainable growth is to be achieved, they cautioned.

Gu, 18, claimed gold medals in the women's freeski big air and halfpipe and silver in the slopestyle discipline. Born in San Francisco, California, to a Chinese mother and US father, the teenager, known as Eileen Gu in the United States, shot to prominence before the Beijing Games after winning multiple international freeski championships.

Su, who recently turned 18, made the nation proud after winning gold in the men's snowboard big air event following his silver medal in the slopestyle competition.

"Eileen Gu, in the lead-up to the Games, was a Chinese sports superstar in the making and she seems to be living up to that billing," said Mark Thomas, managing director of S2M Consulting, a China-focused sports event company. "Su Yiming, having won gold in the Beijing Winter Olympics big air snowboarding, is set for Chinese superstardom," he added.

Gu and Su's success at the Games puts them on the same level as ex-NBA star Yao Ming and retired tennis player Li Na, who won two grand slams, he said. "There is no doubt they will help drive the popularity of winter sports in China just as Yao did for basketball," he said.

Su and Gu will be sports megastars for many years to come and "can be important ambassadors promoting the participation and growth of Chinese winter sports", Thomas said.